Fashion Month - Spring 2007 Collections

Now that it's officially fall, Spring-Summer 2007 collections have been on the runways the past 2 weeks in New York and London, and beginning today, the Italian designers are having shows in Milan, followed by next week's shows in Paris, ending October 9th. I watched most of the photo slideshows and videos from the American designers' fashion shows on the New York magazine site and saw a few of the London shows on style.com.

Essentially, what I saw was a distinct juxtaposition between soft, romantic, ruffly pieces and sophisticated, architectural, tapered looks.  A few designers did both, like Ralph Lauren (who, I just read is no longer using real fur in his clothes), but most stuck with one or the other - Vera Wang, for example, embellished the ruffles where Michael Kors created a tailored, slim effect.  The colors selected for fall are primarily muted, like olive green, bronze red and light mustard yellow.  Not really "spring" colors in my opinion, but compared with all of the gray and black out there right now, it's something.

Some common themes are along the lines of this fall's trends such as black and white, layering, oversized bags, embellished sleeves, poufy skirts and obtuse ruffles.  New for spring are doily patterns, artsy florals, horizontal stripes (yes, that's right - to make all of our hips look bigger), and some bold, wacky modern patterns.  I'm no fashion expert though, so don't go turning your Grandma's hand woven doily tablecloths into a skirt just because I said it was coming into fashion.

Hats abounded on the runway, along with tailored and cropped suit jackets, short trenchcoats, cropped cardigans, strapless gowns & dresses, shimmery fitted tank dresses, deep v-necks on tops and dresses (for nursing moms),  (oversized and belt-sized) satin bows @ waist (with long tails), pencil thin belts, medium brown leather belts, short shorts, half leggings, Mary Jane ankle-strap shoes and overlapped thick strapped sandals.

Overall, the American designers presented some solid Ready to Wear collections. The designers who grabbed the most attention were Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen, Michael Kors, Derek Lam, Proenza Schoeler, Ralph Lauren, Badgley Mischka, Peter Som, Tory Burch, Carmen Marc Valvo and Cynthia Rowley. From London, I liked the Emporio Armani show and the Paul Smith Women show.

My favorite photos, however, weren't actually of the clothes on the runway but what the real people wore to the shows.  The style.com site has an interesting photo blog by "The Sartorialist" showcasing his photos of New York fashionistas and friends.

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