Must Have Fashion Trends for 2010: Hip Slit Dresses

We have seen mini- skirts and little dresses dominate the fashion trends in these past few season. For 2010, high split or hip slit dresses will take over red carpet, magazine editorials and fashionista closets.

Hip slit dresses were like maxi dresses with flowing fabric but they will show your whole leg. These are dresses with slits that reaches the top of the thigh. They may also come in single side split, a center split, or dual side splits with a panel of fabric that falls along the middle section.

New York Fashion Week: Monique Lhuillier's Fall 2010 Collection

Monique Lhuillier's Fall 2010 collection that was showcased in New York Fashion Week. View some pieces from her collection.

Valentino Spring 2010 Haute Couture Show

Valentino created their Spring collection with the intention to attract younger group of customers. The theme for Valentino's Spring 2010 Haute Couture Show was Garden of Eden in a modern world. Actually, it reminds me of the Avatar movie.

The majority of the collection is composed of chiffon. See the rest of Valentino's Spring 2010 collection!

Giorgio Armani Prive Spring 2010 Haute Couture Show

For his Spring 2010 Haute Couture Show, Giorgio Armani got his inspiration from the moon in order to come up with a romantic and dreamy collection. As a result, the runway was dominated by luminescent fabrics, curviform cutting, embroideries that look like the moon craters, and crescent-shaped hairdo. For the evening wear, Giorgio Armani's Spring 2010 Collection include sparkling silver beading, pale metallic pinks and greens and some shades of electric blue. See the amazing pieces from Giorgio Armani Prive Spring 2010 collection!

Dress Trends for Spring-Summer 2010: One-Shoulder Dress

One-shoulder dress. This style has been with us for a few seasons already and is still very popular both with designers and customers. Single-shoulder gowns are often chosen to grace on the red carpet and there are dresses which suit everyday situations, too.

Dress Trends for Spring-Summer 2010

LFW: Pringle of Scotland Spring/Summer 2010

Pringle of Scotland showcased their Spring/Summer 2010 collection during the London Fashion Week though before they liked to shine in Milan.

This return is explaned by the fact the company wanted to join the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the fashion week marking this way its Scottish origin.

The collection is rather monotone. The only colors used in clothes are white, black, gray, beige, brown and lemon. A bit dull pallete for spring and summer I would say.

by Veronica Valter

The garments weren’t too diverse either. Short knitwear dresses and interesting open cable-knit cardigans showed that Pringle didn’t forget the brand was based on knitwear.

LFW: Burberry Prorsum Spring/Summer 2010

So much awaited and anticpated collection by Burberry Prorsum finally was unveiled and closed the London Fashion Week that celebrated its 25th Anniversary.

Burberry that showcased their collections in Milan for many years returned to London to make the celebration even brighter.

Trench coats were the main pieces in the Spring/Summer 2010 collection.

The trench has been reinvented and intended specifically for the 18- to 25-year-olds in the audience. Beigh color is one of the trendiest at the moment and military motives are still fresh, so the Burberry trench will become something like a must-have for fashionistas all over the globe, and especially in England with its rainy weather.

by Veronica Valter

LFW: Issa Spring Fashion Trends 2010

This super-beauty can make even the most ordinary clothes look great. And this happened again with Issa for Spring-Summer 2010 at London Fashion Week.

The collection itself has nothing much outstanding but, of course, there are some items worth your attention. First of all it’s an ant pattern on about the third of outfits presented in the line. Those trails of ants were printed or embroidered on a handful of the party dresses.Rain-forest exotica also inspired some of the garments.Playful green, rose, yellow and orange tones create the illusion of a warm sunny day – somethng we will long for a lot in cold winter months.

NYFW Review: 3.1 Phillip Lim's Fall 2009 Collection

The fantastic thing about a Phillip Lim collection is that no matter what the big idea is, almost anyone can find something to wear.

This season, Lim embraced fashion's well-worn rock theme, complete with live music from the band Lissy Trullie. That meant a cream doubleface wool "H:endrix" coat, a ruffled "dandy blouse," and a darling black-and-white rabbit print crinkled chiffon dress. Get it?

A Sgt. Pepper jacket was emblazoned with gold braiding, as you'd expect, and wispy (Celia) "Birtwell" dress in a black burnout floral with a charming beaded yoke.

But the magic is in picking apart the looks and finding versatile pieces such as a copper-foiled shearling bomber jacket, a goat fur vest with crystals at the shoulders, and a dusty rose crepe scalloped hem dress with Art Deco beading--- all of which, you know, will be priced to move. Special and affordable, that's Lim's designing genius.

NYFW Review: Calvin Klein's Fall 2009 Women's Collection

NEW YORK -- Francisco Costa's nearly all-black Calvin Klein collection was an amazing feat in fabric development marking a new moment for minimalism. In wool, jersey and silk jacquard, the shapes were geometric and cut close to the body. Dresses were put together like jigsaw puzzles and coats fell in crescent-shaped panels.

The fabrics were works of art, highlighting the fall trend of extraordinary surface details. A skirt suit was a constellation of tiny rips and tears, and a black crochet turtleneck sweater brought to mind a circuit board.

A crystal bonded coat had the sparkling texture of black granite in the sun, and a holey, felted wool sleeveless sheath the look of lace. An ivory crackle print shearling coat evoked pottery baking in the sun.

These clothes were interesting, challenging and wearable, unlike the geometric volumes from Costa's spring collection, which now seem like more of an intellectual exercise.

NYFW Review: Proenza Schouler's Fall 2009 Collection

NEW YORK -- There was a greatest-hits vibe to many of the collections shown last week in New York as designers stayed in their comfort zones, reiterating what they do best. For Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, that meant tapping back into the youthful, sporty spirit on which their line was founded. No more sculptural Mickey Mouse ear sleeves or costumey bobby hats -- just smart outerwear and cool girl dresses, albeit many of them too wintertime heavy for L.A.

Raglan sleeved peacoats and jackets in heavy charcoal and camel twill with black insets had a collegiate feel, paired with salt 'n' pepper tweed walking shorts and low-slung miniskirts. Mini-dresses with contoured panels of quilted forest green, navy, black and burgundy nylon had an outdoorsy feel, some with the bra-top effect that is a signature of the designers. Cable-knit tights and lug-soled boots completed the look.

The final dresses were collages of shredded violet, midnight blue or forest green velvet suspended on sheer black netting creating a sense of beautiful decay.

NYFW Review: Ralph Lauren's Fall 2009 Collection

NEW YORK -- It is somehow comforting that, though the economy is melting down, Ralph Lauren's rarefied world is still perfectly intact.

The king of fine living, Lauren showed a collection that conjured images of a weekend at a country estate --horseback riding by day in suede jodhpurs, a Fair Isle sweater, tweed jacket and cozy patchwork coat; candlelit dinners by night in a gray wool evening suit with jeweled buttons; or a sinuous white silk gown with an embroidered white shearling coat thrown over the shoulders.

There's nothing quite so luxurious as wearing white during the winter, and being in the circumstances where you don't have to worry about messing it up. Who wouldn't want to escape there for a little while? Besides, Lauren's business stands on fantasy and the idea that his fantasy is insulated from cold, harsh reality.

He also took the opportunity to showcase his new collection of timepieces with "stirrup" shaped faces encrusted in pave diamonds, displayed prominently on models' wrists, and described along with the outfits in the show notes.

NYFW Review: Michael Kors

NEW YORK -- Classics with a twist, that's what Michael Kors is known for and that's what he delivered in his strong and safe collection for fall. That meant basics like a charcoal pinstripe pantsuit, cut out around the shoulders to reveal the collarbone; a black satin evening sheath with molded and folded origami sleeves creating a new power shoulder; and easy, 'I will own it forever' draped black sequin dresses.

Recession? That's not in Kors' jet-setting vocabulary judging from the outrageously luxe shredded fox fur coats, which came in the more sober shades of "black" and "blond," as well as safety-cone orange and neon pink for those who don't mind throwing caution to the wind and advertising that they still have money.

Combined with the neutral palette of camel, charcoal and black, the dashes of neon followed fall's '80s revival trend, while the basic sheath dresses and cashmere sweaters updated with clever cutting techniques prevented the classics from being too dull.

NYFW: Marc Jacobs' Fall 2009 Collection

NEW YORK -- With his typically amped-up runway sets pared down to nothing more than a trailing spotlight, Marc Jacobs showed a exuberant fall collection that reveled in the art of getting dressed. A riot of Crayola-box colors and 1980s references, the show was the jolt the floundering fashion industry needs, proving that the ostentatious furs and jeweled heels of yesteryear may be gone, but that luxury lives on in a purer form through energetic cut and color.

Their hair swept into pompadours and teased into Flock of Seagulls whooshes, Jacobs’ downtown denizens raced around the runway in Max Headroom sunglasses, chain-link necklaces and elfin booties with cartoonish, spring-loaded heels.

You could feel the influence of pop artist Stephen Sprouse in the Day-Glo baroque print leggings, scarves and quilted handbags. (Jacobs, also creative director of Louis Vuitton, recently released a Sprouse tribute collection for the brand.)

NYFW: Duckie Brown's accent color is 'county orange'

NEW YORK -- My buddy Chip in Brentwood is the only fellow Vermonter I know in Southern California, and there's been many a time when we've found ourselves laughing inanely about things those outside of the Green Mountain State would hardly notice.
They usually involve the manufacture of maple syrup, hunting season or a guy named Lorne who was maligned on the walls of every cubicle in the UVM library for his less-than-gentlemanly treatment of the state's moose population.
One time, we started laughing about a hue we dubbed "county orange" -- it's the particular shade of blaze orange associated with hazmat suits, hunting vests, road crew workers and guests of the county penal system. To us, the image of a guy clad in county orange and leaning on a shovel was as familiar a roadside attraction as the Marlboro Man billboard that towered over Sunset outside the Chateau Marmont for years.
That's what came to mind yesterday at the Duckie Brown show, which, like most of the men's shows in Milan and Paris, (and so far, here in New York as well) didn't stray far from a basic black and gray color palette accented with a single pop of color. For the Duckie Brown boys, that was -- you guessed it -- county orange.
That the collection was full of loose-fitting padded trousers, turtlenecks and cold-weather gear that brought to mind the more fashion-forward of the snowboarder set made it all the more appropriate for the cooler climes of slopeside Vermont.

Emporio Armani Men's Collection Spring/Summer 2009

Blue DNA

The genetic code of this Emporio Armani collection is revealed in a palette of pale shades ranging from stormy hues of gray to dark variations of navy blue, possessing the plain austerity of uniforms.

A mental horizon focused on the city, an atmosphere of Nordic Europe, where the contemporary meets the future, the silhouette is now more streamlined, more dynamic: wide trousers, so typically Armani, narrow at the hem, drawn in by two darts. The jacket is reconstructed, but features a small seam on the shoulder that suggests a hand made finish.

Emphasizing the slim look, sleeves are close fitting with a narrow shawl collar. Meticulous linings are piped and edged, creating an overall lightness with delicate materials such as linens treated with new finishes, silk and polyester blends, and shirt material adopted for trousers. Even the leather for bombers and blousons, pierced and displaying heat laser printing for a bark effect, is chosen for its lightweight feel.

New York Fashion Week: Thom Browne Thinks Big

When I saw Thom Browne's fall/winter 2010 runway collection would be showing at the Park Avenue Armory this season, I immediately envisioned the immense, 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall with its soaring barrel-vaulted ceiling where most of the fashion events take place (last season Yohji Yamamoto and French soccer player Zinedine Zidane memorably kicked soccer balls toward runway photographers at the culmination of a Y-3 show there). 

But once again, Browne was playing with proportions -- and expectations -- and attendees found themselves sequestered in small groups in one of four 19th-century-period reception rooms off to the left and right. (The room I was seated in, known as "The Veterans Room," is apparently one of only two remaining interiors in the world designed by Louis C. Tiffany Associated Artists.)

New York Fashion Week: Vera Wang's Understated Comfort

Vera Wang, like so many designers this season, is making a case for understatement, using the theme of "film noir" as a starting point for her darkly romantic collection of soft, sculptural, day to night pieces.

Highlights included a black twill jacket with an organza corsage, a white linen voile blouse with a sculptural twist at the shoulder, and a genius charcoal knit jumpsuit with tuxedo stripes.

Bejeweling was at a minimum, which was a change for Wang, reflecting a new, sportier attitude. (Models wore ropes of distressed pearls instead of the bibs of jewels they have had in seasons past, exuding a less polished, more distressed glamour.)

New York Fashion Week: Barbara Tfank's grown-up glamour for the 'Mad Men' set

What's so powerful about L.A. designer Barbara Tfank is she knows what she does -- grown-up glamour with the finest fabrics in the world -- and what she does not do -- trends and in-your-face glitz. And she never wavers.

For years, she has used vintage Bianchini-Ferier fabrics in her collections. And this season, she went one step further, designing her own textiles inspired by Fauvist painter Raoul Dufy.

The peppy florals and moody roses add whimsy to classic ladylike shapes, such as a midnight-blue and emerald rose-print shift with a back panel and a neckline that sits just off the shoulders, and a column gown in a Fauvist black-and-blue floral print with a grosgrain ribbon at the waist.

New York Fashion Week: The Kardashians - Kim, Khloe and Kourtney - unveil their Bebe line

The latest leveraging of the Kardashian sister synergy hit the runway in Manhattan on Tuesday, as the Bebe-Kardashian line debuted at the Style 360 subset of New York Fashion Week. Since this was five long blocks across town from the Bryant Park tents -- the center of the New York Fashion Week universe --the highest wattage celebrity attendee seemed to be the increasingly Amazonian-looking Jenni "J-Woww" Farley of "Jersey Shore" fame, who breezed into the room on glittery legs, wearing a turquoise Ed Hardy T-shirt dress and batting eyelashes the size of small butterflies, causing a Pamplona-like running of the paparazzi.