AKIKO OGAWA
Disco balls spun overhead at Saturday night’s last show, and not just because everyone was ready to party. Inspired by the splendor of the Milky Way and 17th-century Scottish costume, Akiko Ogawa’s collection told the story of an equestrienne whizzing through outer space. Using diverse materials like dip-dye curled mohair, tartan, and holographic plastic fringe, Ogawa gave her new, more compact silhouette a sense of romance. Tailored riding jackets with structured wool bustles met chiffon baby dolls in rich indigos, teals and blacks. Cashmere rompers were harnessed with cape-like swathes of tartan, fastened on with futuristic buckles. Bows and ruffles graced the deep-blue blouses. A crystal-encrusted, black lamé tweed puffer coat and a riding coat with a long navy lace train captured the feel of an unexpectedly luxurious galactic winter. Knee-high buckled boots in blue, black, and patent leather gave ladylike looks a powerful feel. Pumps with curved heels, faux-fur caps, and shimmering, ethereal makeup topped off this unexpected and highly-successful collection.
—Sasha de Vogel

PREEN
Like most brands that market to pretty young things, Preen is rarely intellectual or complicated. This British export is all about cool, It Girl clothes for a night out at the Beatrice Inn, and there’s no doubt that the fall line’s sparkly cocktail dresses and tartan wool coats will trickle down fast to fashion for the masses. Designers Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi created the collection for a girl who has an offbeat notion of sexiness and likes to stand out. She won’t wear her lacy silk camisole with the ubiquitous skinny jean, but instead opts for a pair of blue, high-waisted tapered leather pants with frumpy pleating. Her staple winter coat comes in classic aviator-style black leather lined with creamy white shearling, but it subverts tradition with a loose fit, an androgynous shape, and a buckled funnel neck that tips a hat to S&M. Glamorous occasions call for an artfully-folded strapless mini-dress covered in midnight blue sequins or a stretchy cobalt number with voluminous shoulders.

Perhaps what was missing from Preen was a sense of effortlessness. Although the palette was mostly subdued blues, greys, and creams, too many pieces were ruched, tucked, or pleated within an inch of their lives. Studied attempts at quirkiness—such as a paisley, blouson-sleeved chiffon dress or a long, grey, belted onesie with an awkward asymmetrical halter neck—fell flat. Thornton and Bregazzi might do well to remember that youthful dressing is edgy and experimental, but it relies on carefree ease. In other words, stop trying so hard.
—Sherrie Hui

BUILT BY WENDY
Built By Wendy is constructed for the prototypical urban American woman: youthful, sophisticated, romantic, and intelligent with more than a slight bit of European affect. The presentation at Werkstatte Gallery on Great Jones Street was only tangentially a fashion show: 28 looks were slide-projected against a screen, interspersed with slides of French cathedrals and landscape photography. The lookbook includes ruffle tops. Dresses and skirts were miniature, but there was a healthy dose of this season’s favorite patent leather and plaids. The inflection was primarily Nordic: corduroy lederhosen, wool anoraks, and edelweiss print dresses. But all attention was on Joanna Newsom, who performed a mini-set and stole the show with two new songs, a better-than-recorded voice, and a gilded harp.
—Alex Gartenfeld

CHARLOTTE RONSON
Only the Mortimers rival the Ronsons and Dextor-Joneses in the New York social set, which means that Charlotte Ronson makes clothes to which socialite girls flock. For fall, this translated to a floaty petal-print frock and a little crinkled plaid dress with roomy pockets that front-row attendee Corey Kennedy must have loved. Teaming up with the humane society, Charlotte said “No” to fur, opting instead for the synthetic version in a standout cropped bolero jacket. The winner of the collection, however, was oddly a sophisticated grey knit tuxedo dress that was more New York polish than the rest of the West Coast-inspired duds. Little glittery headbands worn around the forehead or pushed up into hair would have made Arden Wohl proud and certainly made Charlotte’s sister Annabelle, who walked the show, crack a smile.
—Xiyin Tang

Y-3
Last season, the Y-3 show included a machine-generated rainstorm over the New York Highline. With the change from spring to fall collection, Y-3 made a natural transition from water to ice. Arriving at Pier 40 on Manhattan’s West Side, guests walked past a soccer field into a dim parking garage. A path in the garage was lit with spotlights like an airstrip and guided everyone to a show area surrounded by walls of ice bathed in blue light. Sport and travel have been consistent elements in Yohji Yamamoto’s Y-3 line for Adidas. This season brought a higher level of sophistication and an eclectic array of fashion references, from Mexican blankets to bright British plaids to Japanese deconstructivism. The Y-3 girl has certainly grown up. She’s left her college tennis team and started working at an architecture firm—trading in some of her track pants, zip-up hoodies, and stretch cotton dresses for Chanel-style boxy jackets, draped wool skirts, drop-crotch pants, and dramatically frayed shawls in black, dark blue, and grey. She’s even bought a bright red sheath with velvet piping for an office holiday party. Hiking and skiing trips call for a short down vest, tight thermal pants, an anorak with a ruffle collar, and a colorful plaid jacket. The male half of the Y-3 couple works smart wool blazers and luxurious knits into his wardrobe of cargo pants, dark jeans, windbreaker jackets, and down coats. He adds items in red, bright blue, or orange to his black and hunter green staples. His favorite long, funnel-neck coat has a red rose print on black wool and sporty Velcro clasps—the perfect blend of sportswear polish and activewear hip.
—Sherrie Hui