Calvin Klein Collection Fall 2012 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Calvin Klein Collection

NEW YORK, February 16, 2012

By Nicole Phelps

New York fashion is in a decorous frame of mind. Dresses outnumbered pants on the runways this week, and skirts have descended to mid-calf. Who knows from whence this new propriety came, but you certainly wouldn't have guessed the house of Calvin Klein would be leading the way, not with the founder's legacy of provocation. But Francisco Costa is a different designer. He started feeling for longer lengths a while ago, and he brought them back today in a strong collection that also keyed into the season's new, bigger volumes.

Picking up where his pre-fall lineup left off, Costa put the focus on the waist, cinching coats and dresses made from dense wools or bonded polished leather with metal-banded belts. On other pieces, inverted darts above the midriff and pleats below it created the nipped silhouette. Peplum jackets followed the same curved lines, blossoming out over full pants cropped a couple of inches above the ankles. The fabrics had real heft but didn't feel weighed down, thanks to the clothes' built-in volumes. A few of the dresses had sheer panels on the torso (which should make them appealing to front-row guest Rooney Mara, who's made a red-carpet style statement with cutout frocks). But even without the game of peekaboo, these otherwise modest silhouettes looked sexy. That was Costa's real accomplishment today.

See all from Calvin Klein Collection › Timeline

A.F. Vandevorst	A.L.C.	A.P.C.
Acne	A Détacher	Akris
Alberta Ferretti	Albino	Alexander McQueen
Alexander Wang	Alexandre Herchcovitch	Alexis Mabille
Alice + Olivia	Altuzarra	Andrew Gn
Anna Sui	Ann Demeulemeester	Anne Valérie Hash
Ann-Sofie Back Atelje	Anthony Vaccarello	Antonio Berardi
Antonio Marras	Aquascutum	Aquilano.Rimondi
Araks	Azzaro

Badgley Mischka	Balenciaga	Bally
Balmain	Banana Republic	Band of Outsiders
Barbara Bui	Barbara Casasola	Barbara Tfank
Basso & Brooke	BCBG Max Azria	Bebe
Behnaz Sarafpour	Belstaff	Betsey Johnson
Bibhu Mohapatra	Bill Blass	Billy Reid
BLK DNM	Blumarine	Bottega Veneta
Bouchra Jarrar	Brood	Burberry Prorsum

Cacharel	Calla	Calvin Klein Collection
Camilla and Marc	Carlos Miele	Carolina Herrera
Carven	Catherine Malandrino	Cédric Charlier
Celine	Central Saint Martins	Chado Ralph Rucci
Chadwick Bell	Chalayan	Chanel
Charlotte Ronson	Chloé	Chris Benz
Christian Cota	Christian Dior	Christian Siriano
Christophe Lemaire	Christopher Kane	Christopher Raeburn
Clements Ribeiro	Collette Dinnigan	Comme des Garçons
Commuun	Costello Tagliapietra	Costume National
Creatures of Comfort	Creatures of the Wind	Cushnie et Ochs
Custo Barcelona	Cynthia Rowley

Daks	Damir Doma	Danielle Scutt
Daryl K	David Koma	Dean Quinn
Dennis Basso	Derek Lam	Diane von Furstenberg
Diesel Black Gold	Dion Lee	Dirk Bikkembergs
DKNY	Dolce & Gabbana	Donna Karan
Doo.Ri	Douglas Hannant	Dries Van Noten
Dsquared²	Duro Olowu

Edun	Elie Saab	Elie Tahari
Elizabeth and James	Emilia Wickstead	Emilio de la Morena
Emilio Pucci	Emporio Armani	Erdem
Erin Fetherston	Etro