Runway

Zang Toi: Russia is having un moment, apparently: Les femmes russes made for an elegant element of Zang Toi’s runway this season in emperial-style looks like a long, patterned gold, brown and rust embroidered gown with a long matching evening coat slimly lined with mink at the color and cuffs. Fur found its way onto shawls, capelets, and jackets like a grey pantsuit with a mink-lined swing jacket. For day, there were tailored pantsuits and short suits in checked grey, paired with copper silk blouses sporting exaggerated neckties. On the day-to-eve front, perhaps: a sexy black pantsuit avec revealing diamond cutout on the chest and big fur muff-like cuffs. How about the finale? A sublime velvet kimono coat with gold Asian embroidery over a floor length black gown looked straight out of Russian artist Erté’s ’20s illustrations. And did we mention the glorious hair? Big curls were piled asymmetrically on the crown in a modernly glam ode to 19th century Czarina styles. One big, joyous j’adore.

Calvin Klein Collection
Francisco Costa was sublimely mad for military this season, tempered with a classically Calvin touch of minimalism, of course. Cadet-style coats came in black wool and mohair gabardine with pleating in the back; leather variations sported tightly-cinched waists, oversized belt buckles, and grandly proportioned and squared-off shoulders. Shiny black, white, and navy vinyl accented the Fall roster, from skirts suits to frocks to to stellar tall boots. On the footwear front, said boots got underlined with exaggerated square soles. All-leather dresses also got the square (but certainly not squarish) treatment, thanks to perforated-detail skirts. The effect? A collection doused with sexy severity. Another highlight: a navy ankle-length dress with sculpted shoulders, worn by Caroline Murphy (surprise mod moment!). As for those perched at attention in the front row? Olivia Wilde, plus red carpet tour de force Jessica Chastain, standing her ground front row amidst the media frenzy. The whole slew of Costa’s latest Calvin Klein Collection pieces would look darkly divine on the fair leading lady.

Proenza Schouler: Lace and leather, like birds of a feather: The Proenza duo came out with guns blazing at their FiDi show at 5 Beekman Street, that wonderfully raw, dilapidated building dating back to 1881 and considered to be the city’s first highrise. Fitting, since their Fall collection lifted the brand to new heights. How so? Let us count the ways. Novel fabric finesses, for starters: skirt suits in confetti-printed noir, white pony hair, and woven leather intricately intertwined to look like tweed. Those belted slim shift dresses in punky chain metal? Probably placed immediately on reserve for the upcoming “Met Gala’s exhibition, Punk: From Couture to Chaos.” Other feats of technique included ombre ostrich skirts paired with needlepunched leather knit sweaters (alos ombre-d). Also, perfect peplum dresses fashioned from crepe-backed lace that resembled perforated leather at a distance. Front rowers like Elizabeth Olsen and Liv Tyler will likely be donning these confections tout de suite. An outstanding collection, combined with new financial backing and business guru Rose Marie Bravo serving on their board, is bound to translate to even higher echelons of success. Enjoy the ride, boys!

Jeremy Scott: The designer’s latest offering was typically Scott. Googley cartoon eyes, exploding brains, and pithy graphic t-shirts—”Adults Suck, Then You Are One,” “Too Weird To Live”—abounded. The imagery was inspired, Scott said, by West Coast skate culture and a generalized adolescent perspective on the world. Ironically, Scott brought a very adult kind of discipline to exploring that kind of anti-establishment juvenilia. His collection was very coherent, ranging from red plaid pleated pants like punks used to wear to pendant necklaces that bore the anarchy symbol. These clothes invite you to look, then say, “What are you looking at?”

Check out the latest catwalk vids from Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week

Oscar de la Renta
We’re hearing some major Oscar buzz, and it’s not of the gold statue variety. On Tuesday, Oscar de la Renta gathered a packed house at his 42nd Street showroom to debut his much talked-about Fall ’13 collection. On everyone’s mind? The effects of that three-week in-house residency de la Renta offered to disgraced former Dior designer, John Galliano. The answer came in the form of nipped-waist jackets atop knee-grazing skirts slightly reminiscent of the iconic Dior Bar silhouette, not to mention those cloche hats pulled over darkly-shaded eyes. Sublime. Later, a stash of de la Renta staples paraded out, from a toile-print day dress to a black organza number with white floral embroidery, to the show-closing silk faille ball gown with gold bullion embroidery worn by Karlie Kloss. Galliano’s temporary stint may be coming to a close, but we’re guessing this is only the beginning.

Rodarte: Kate and Laura Mulleavy didn’t have to look far for their Fall ’13 inspiration. The sister duo nodded to sunny Santa Cruz, their Cali hometown, with models stomping out in eighties-era get-ups amid a setting of neon light sticks. As for those rave-friendly splashes of light, a fun catwalk setting for a label that usually goes very bare-bones on the ambiance front, to be sure, but also another nod to their West Coast roots: the Giant Dipper roller coaster. Naturally, there were tie-dye satin gowns (outfitted here with 3-D foam bodices), hip-baring bodysuits worn under jean shorts and studded leather jackets, and acid-wash denim aplenty.

Tory Burch
A resolutely ladylike and demure showing in mostly muted tones hues ruled at Tory Burch, cast again an appropriately stately venue, the Pierre hotel. The collection included ensembles thick with embellishment (namely, sequins and beading) plus textures like fur, velvet, and laser-cut leather. There were lots of allover prints—most notably, a black-and-white floral print that recurred throughout, which Burch herself wore in the form of a tidy V-neck shift to take her bow. Hems hit just below the knee. Many of the dresses were underlaid with turtleneck sweaters—a zeitgeist-y ’90s touch and a practical layering trick for fall.