Ready to Wear

FREE DAILY TRENDS

17 MAY 2013

The Age of Incense

A whiff of an old-fashioned home fragrance trend has entered the air

6 MAY 2013

Pajama Party

Bedclothes get fashionable

22 APR 2013

Mass Appeal

Nascent fashion ventures look to the masses for designs and dollars

8 APR 2013

Look Sharp

Knives get the design object treatment

5 APR 2013

First Fridays: Michelle Goad, CEO and Co-Founder of PS DEPT.

Q+A with the customer service innovator

22 MAR 2013

Memphis Woos Again

Memphis design is on the verge of a comeback

19 FEB 2013

Boy Meets World

Tomboy style becomes a fashion mainstay

15 FEB 2013

Where the Wild Things Are

Progressive personal care startups go into the woods for ingredients

11 FEB 2013

Growing Panes

The art of stained glass is being cast in new light

5 FEB 2013

Remote Control

Mobile and video platforms bring online shoppers personalized customer service

9 JAN 2013

Cycle Chic

Designers are tailoring garments for stylish cyclists

20 DEC 2012

Problem Salvers

Natural salves heal what ails you

5 DEC 2012

A Fair Share

Style startups adopt the Netflix subscription model

17 SEP 2012

Secondhand News

Luxury consignment shops flood the Web

3 AUG 2012

First Fridays: Bri Emery, Co-Founder of Blogshop

Q+A with the woman leading the blog design revolution

30 JUL 2012

(Do) Try This at Home

Digital tools facilitate better fitting apparel purchases online

14 JUN 2012

Shape Up

Geometric shapes and patterns are inspiring contemporary design

4 JUN 2012

Eat Wear Love

New blogs are pairing food and fashion. Naturally.

30 MAY 2012

Fashion Fauna

Designers are planting living greens to become wearable fashion

11 MAY 2012

Dream Weaver

Woven details make a modern comeback in the design landscape

While some attendees grumbled about boring shows and uninspired collections, a trove of unusually wearable clothes were on display for fall 2012 at New York Fashion Week. Call it the Kate Middleton effect, but no longer are designers catering to just their most cutting-edge customers. Instead, anyone with a cable knit or a closet stocked with leather can join in.

Closely Knit: Despite this year’s mild winter, designers didn’t shy away from featuring snow-ready wares. Indeed, it was the humble cable knit sweater that provided the biggest surprise during New York Fashion Week. Derek Lam paired his with red carpet-worthy skirts, dressing up the traditionally dowdy wardrobe staple, while Yigal Azrouël’s exaggerated knit links and chains were used to create discreet cut-outs (and, perhaps a bit of circulation should it get too hot). At 3.1 Phillip Lim, the sweater was worn upside down, and seemingly inside-out, adding a post-modernist twist. But few designers paid homage to the iconic pattern like Tommy Hilfiger, who showed a trompe l’oeil cable knit dress.

Show Some Skin: PETA was notably quiet this year, so attendees were left to wonder whether the industry had finally phased out the use of animal skin. Gauging by the fall collections, the answer remains “no.” In addition to plentiful fur and shearling accents, leather was the focal point of many runway ensembles. At Yigal Azrouël and Alexander Wang, it was a head-to-toe affair, while at Proenza Schouler it came in woven doses. Some designers, including Peter Som and Doo.Ri, upgraded skinny leather leggings with looser, trouser-like versions. Meanwhile, patent leather returned in a big way, shimmering on the runways of Thakoon, Derek Lam, Tory Burch, and Diane von Furstenberg.

Black and Blue All Over: While the stand-out color of the season was ox blood, the hot new pairing is black and blue. Some shows went with navy (as seen on the blanket coats at Rag & Bone), while others chose cobalt (including high-sheen options at Prabal Gurung), and a few (Band of Outsiders, Bill Blass) integrated bright and dark shades of azure. Black-and-blue looked just as good on the knee-grazing wool jackets at Billy Reid as they did on the sleek, body-con leather jackets and cut-out dresses at Kevork Kiledjian. At Proenza Schouler the black and blue movement converged with contrasting materials for a pleasing, and refreshingly urbane, effect.