One thing I never anticipated going into the Spring/Summer 2010 collections was that they would play into my sports obsession. Anyone who knows me knows that this is the time of year when on Sundays (and the occasional Monday or Thursday night), I turn into a rather passionate and overly emotional Indianapolis Colts fan. I even wear a jersey.

I love it when two of my favorite things come together. Earlier in the week there was Alexander Wang. And now Alexandre Herchcovitch.

There were super dramatic pieces at the end of the show where the shoulders were exaggerated versions of actual pads and a cage skirt that could have been made from helmet material. I’m not really sure about carrying an actual football clutch. But I loved the plays on athletic socks and even the slightly padded pant. And the color-blocked rubber tank tops were fun.

Sunday can’t get here fast enough.

—PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEREMY KOST

The next logical step after the last year’s stripper platforms?

The greeting at the Alexandre Herchcovitch show today was the background: Pink, green, and lemon yellow. The reaction was kind of like, “Whoa, are we at Spring 2010 already?” which has happened at quite a few of the shows this week.

The clothes pretty much followed suit: Enough bright colors, florals, and flimsy little dresses to make you wonder if certain designers have decided to just forget about seasonal dressing altogether. Which isn’t to say that Alexandre abandoned Fall completely - In fact, he pretty much rounded out the hooker boots trend (see Charlotte Ronson, Ohne Titel and Rodarte for more).

The thing is, we’re pretty sure Alexandre knew he was looking ahead into another time. Not only did the xylophone notes in the music make you think of la-la land, but many of the models donned what looked to be sleep masks on their heads - But very pretty ones, of course.

Yesterday, during step one hundred of Britt-Cleans-Out-Her-Closet week, I found a giant bag full of tote bags.

I felt like Mary Poppins pulling them out - the never ending stream included bags from Bumble, from Charlotte Ronson and Alexandre Herchcovitch, one from Preen and another from Eley Kishimoto - the tangible fruits of my Fashion Week labors.

But I’d trade them all in for this one from Christopher Deane.

I’ve always been a sucker for the traditional I Heart logo and this thick, cotton, made in the USA tote looks sturdier than any of the paper thin bags I’ve garnered from the runways.

The only trouble is that I have to decide what exactly I heart. And while today I might write The Grinch or Kate Moss, tomorrow I might want to write Candy Canes or Doutzen.

What will you heart?

…Because they were all over the New York runways for Spring.

They came huge (Threeasfour, Jenni Kayne), they came small (DVF, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Phillip Lim), they even came minuscule and in body art-like swirls on sheer tops and leggings (Ohne Titel).

We fully expect to see them in every store come February, but the bigger question remains: Will we see them on every girl come April?

Only if we don’t mind looking like disco balls (or Sienna Miller circa 2006)…

Going into Herchcovitch’s show, we expected lots of the streamlined shapes we loved so much from his previous collections. The first few outfits were what we expected to see from him - military inspired dresses, skirts, pants, blazers in neutral khaki - But then, well, we got lost. Our notes:

- Does that crotch have a pouch of ruffles?

- Are those ruffles all over the butt?

- That huge ruffled thing over the oddly printed bloomers - is it a coat? A cape? Why so many ruffles?

- I feel dizzy.

(If you think it was just us, please check out the face of the guy at the end of the front row.)

But all was not lost. We forgave him towards the end when his ruffles, pastels and weird shapes actually began to take the form of pretty dresses that made us wish we could buy Spring for this Fall. Looking back, the collection was really quite divided - on the one hand, interesting wearable pieces and on the other, more ruffles than a bag of Lays.

Of course, we’re all for runway innovation, but if not even the models can pull off a ruffled crotch, that should tell you something.

— HAYLEY PHELAN

Irina, Suvi, Leigh Lezark…

Pose!

—PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEREMY KOST

For more, check out RoidRage.

Questions for Alexandre Herchcovitch:

How do you make shoulder pads look feminine and soft and tent dresses look flattering and chic?

Do you really want your customer wearing plaid and stripes together?

Who made your amazing shoes? They look so comfy until you see their pins!

Do you know why Niki Taylor’s wannabe supermodels are stalking us?

How do you suggest we wear that perfect plaid jumper come fall?

Oh that’s right, you’re from Brazil, where it never gets cold and all the girls look like this…

Rio Fashion Week ended today, and our favorite show was Maria Bonita Extra, the Brazilian line that’s slowly becoming an American girl favorite.

We love the printed minidresses and the brown checkered flutter blouse from MBE, and we also think it’s cool that more and more Brazilian designers are showing each year.

Meanwhile, some Rio locals have emigrated to New York Fashion Week -Alexandre Herchcovitch and Rosa Cha have shown for several seasons, and Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein hails from Brazil - as do Vogue faces Caroline Trentini and Raquel Zimmerman (and my favorite girl, Cintia Dicker).

At the same time, and international buyers are adopting a more diverse global perspective.

Maybe soon, Gisele won’t be the most famous Brazilian in fashion!

—ALISON COOL