2012

We've scoured the Fall 2012 collections for the most amazing shoes, and it was easy, because there were plenty. The best part? Footwear options for Fall 2012 are a lot more reasonable than their Spring 2012 counterparts. (Remember those 6 inch Versace lucite wedges?) Fall 2012 saw lots of wide heels and mary-janes on the runway, and sometimes both simultaneously--like at Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Marni. Knee-high black boots ruled at Alexander Wang, Altuzarra, Givenchy, and Rick Owens, and ladylike pumps could be found at Lanvin, Nina Ricci, and Jil Sander. Of course, if you're looking for something crazy, look no further than Alexander McQueen's heel-less fur shoes. Impractical, but so lovely. Take a look at all the amazing shoes from Fall 2012 and just try to pick a favorite. It's near impossible.

After six days of fashion week, we are still going strong. (A lot of Valentine's Day chocolate is definitely helping carry us along.) Today we took in shows from Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Diesel Black Gold, and saw quite a few girls in leopard coats - on and off the runway. Check our our pictures from today to see New York Fashion Week from our perspective.

We've made it to day four of New York Fashion Week without any bruises, ticket crises, or flu symptoms, if you can believe it. Today we saw some of our favorite people, like Susie Lau, Lindsey Wixson, and Jenny Kang, and some of our favorite shows like Thakoon, Zac Posen and Victoria Beckham. Forget brunch, our Sunday was full of NYFW.

Today the Fashionista team was busy running all over Manhattan to catch shows from Alexander Wang, Prabal Gurung, Altuzarra, Band of Outsders, Rachel Antonoff, Wes Gordon, and so many more! In between taxis, subways, and the occasional pedi-cab, we managed to take a few snaps of NYFW through our eyes. Click through the gallery to see everything from Gisele backstage at Alexander Wang (yes, this happened and we almost died) to a real cat posing with models at Rachel Antonoff!

Day two of NYFW was a breeze, with fun shows from Jason Wu, Rag & Bone, and Kate Spade. What did we see? Well, we caught up with the unbelievably gorgeous Hanneli Mustaparta at Rag & Bone, saw Coco Rocha practicing her interview skills at Jason Wu, and verified that Daphne Groeneveld is just as perfect in real life as she is in print. See NYFW from our eyes after the jump!

PARIS--Giambattista Valli’s show last night was exactly how I used to imagine the haute couture world as a child: gorgeous items unveiled in intimate, gold-leaf interiors, to a crowd who seems to wear them on a daily basis. Held in a salon at the Hôtel de Crillon, the collection was presented to a small crowd, sans standing space. No gimmicks, no conceptual nonsense – only models undulating around the room in pristine ball gowns and cocktail dresses, to the 'oohs' and 'aahs' of Salma Hayek and Diane Kruger.

PARIS--An X-ray of Dior savoir faire was what was promised for the spring couture collection, presented yesterday afternoon to small audience on the second floor of the house’s Avenue Montaigne headquarters. The technical wizardry that was the foundation of this couture collection was an affirmation of Dior’s history--a history that could be seen in the framed black and white photos lining the staircase to the second floor salon. There was Mr. Dior himself working on a fitting, attendees occupying the very same seats from shows in the '50s, and at the center of the staircase, an embroidered Bar suit enclosed in glass. An intentional reminder, perhaps.

The past weeks have seen a flurry of SS12 campaigns come pouring in, from Givenchy's moody beach scenes to Chanel's acrobats. In the mix, we couldn't help but notice a few resounding trends, some stranger than others. On the more expected side of the spectrum are beachy seascapes and smiling models - typical summertime tropes. But more unusual trends are emerging, like models standing around cars. If the auto industry needs a reboot, maybe they should just get Gisele to stand in front of a Chrysler? Click through our gallery of trends in the spring 2012 campaigns, so far. With ads still to be released from Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, and Céline, there are sure to be some more kooky trends, though maybe none as weird as Helena Bonham-Carter's sickly spots for Marc Jacobs... We'll just have to wait and find out.

The summer of skinny belts is over. The big houses in Paris are showing wide statement belts with pants, dresses, skirts, and just about everything

We're rolling (in the) deep with the shows right now, and this latest batch is quite spectacular. Hop over to our Fashion Week page to see Derek La

We're growing to love Billy Reid's presentations because they always tell a story--and this season, we couldn't help but remember the lauded designer's own inspiring narrative. Billy, who you may know as the most recent CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner, actually won CFDA’s Best New Menswear Designer award in 2001 as William Reid. His company, like many, hit hard times in the 9/11 aftermath, forcing him to close up shop and head back south to Alabama, where he started over. Now, 10 years later, Billy is one of fashion's shining stars. His presentation last night drew a crowd so huge I could barely see the models. To get to the front, I ended up having to nudge my way through the beer-clutching masses and the whole experience reminded me of being at concert. Turns out, I was. Behind the models, and an absolutely gorgeous set of hanging candles and tree branches, was a full band, rounding out the late night outdoor concert vibe of the Milk Studios space. "Our friends who are playing music tonight, really they became the inspiration," Billy told us.

It would be tough indeed to find a male design duo more appealing than Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra. In addition to cutting killer draped dresses season after season, their uniform--plaid, suspenders, and those signature grizzled beards--make them the original cuddly hipsters of the fashion world. But back to those dresses! Whether their frocks are cowl- or halter-necked, wrapped or belted, the guys consistently resist the urge to incorporate newfangled cuts or daring body-con. This was no different for spring '12, but amongst their usual bold solids, Costello and Tagliapietra worked in a number of gorgeous digital-print numbers too. “We took photos of flowers, put them on the computer and layered and layered them,” Costello said. “That’s how the prints came out and informed the collection.” As for the palate--forest green, grey-blue, dusty rose-colored prints--Tagliapietra told us "the colors don’t wear you, they emphasize your personality.” Simon Doonan agrees. “I thought the colors were enormously sophisticated," he said. "They have an unusual juxtaposition of color."

Do people still say "hot mess" anymore? If not, it should be resurrected for the purposes of reviewing the Project Runway season nine finale show I saw yesterday. But the collections are not really why one attends Project Runway shows, is it? Of course not...it's for seeing Michael Kors, and all the random celebs who show up. This year delivered Jennifer Love Hewitt, wearing an unfortunate orange bandage dress, and Andie MacDowell, looking rather radiant and sure of herself. It's always fun to see who they dig up as a guest judge, with Jessica Simpson--clothing line doyenne and worst-dressed list inhabitant--doing the honors last year. This year they went with an actual designer, the amazonian L'Wren Scott, who makes me want to wear even higher heels. And then there was Heidi, who was completely stunning in a sparkly, backless black jumpsuit.

Jason Wu likes a little bit of juxtaposition in his collections, mixing chic glamor with very subtle elements of subversion. This season it’s a print collaboration with a street artist, mixed with peplum and haute couture shapes. Throw in some Pop Art, neon, and chiffon windbreakers and you’ve got Wu’s vision of spring 2012. It’s a vision that worked. The prints, conceived in collaboration with the artist KAWS--who’s best known for warping street advertisements and beloved cartoon characters--did a subtle cartoon-y hand print behind a more classic Wu petal print. This print appeared on pants, blouses, and dresses. Dresses, as befits a Wu lady, were generally belted with fuller skirts to the knee. After a few black and grey looks, the clouds parted and out came the big gun color, continuing the neon theme he hinted at in his resort collection.

After spending the morning with Peter Som a few days before his spring show, we couldn’t wait to see the strong, bright—but not overly feminine—floral prints take shape on the runway. Although we knew what to expect, we were still curious to hear Tommy Hilfiger’s predictions before the show began. “Fun and lux,” the designer told us. Clearly, Hilfiger knows his consultant well. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

We've weathered many fashion weeks at Fashionista, from trudging through snow during AW10 to sunny showroom appointments for Resort 2012. In our trave

Avril Lavigne will show her line Abbey Dawn at New York Fashion Week next month. We'll let that sink in a little for a minute. The punk-pop princess is set to expand Abbey Dawn, which up until now has included t-shirts, hoodies and jewelry (decorated with skulls and lightening bolts, natch), and is sold exclusively at Kohls. This year, however, there will be even more pink-graffiti-print to go around. The line will include dresses, denim, skirts, footwear, handbags, wallets, purses and eyewear. And, just so the sk8ter bois don't feel left out, Lavigne (or her team) will be producing a full men's collection as well.

Erin Fetherston is a girl's girl through and through, and for the resort/holiday collection she delivered exactly what the most feminine could desire. In the constant cycle of collections it's easy to overlook the purpose of a line, namely, to clothe the body. When searching for a New Year's dress or a light frock for a post-holiday vacation, it's likely that the search will lean more towards fun and functional than the conceptual artistry of the larger main collections. With Fetherston's diffusion line, Erin by Erin Fetherston, which debuted for fall 2011, she sought to give girls just that. "It wasn't so much a conceptual line, like the major spring and fall collections. I wanted to experiment with different fun fabrics but make something that could transition from holiday weather to spring," she said. Centering around staple party dresses at more affordable prices (no item exceeds $695, and the average price is about $375), the line is a perfect mix of transitional yet seasonal pieces and avoids the wear-it-once demon that may set you back more than a one-night dress should.