Alright ladies and gents, fashion week is here. That means eight days of complete and total chaos. No, really, that means eight days of shows (and parties, and backstage happenings, and standing room fist fights) that we cover faster than you can ride the L train to the Meatpacking District on a Friday night. Get ready for it.

All photos by Brian Bedder

With Topshop on its way to NYC, those of us in little 'ol America can stop pushing the T-word from our minds. Instead, we can focus on how we never have to set foot in another H&M again. We're not exactly Topshop crazy, but will acknowledge that when it comes to the high street, Topshop is one of our top picks. London-based Coutorture partner, Catwalk Queen, made a special visit to Arcadia Group to check in on what's being delivered circa Spring 2008. It's okay, you can look.


Photo by Catwalk Queen.

This week, we popped into the J Lindeberg showroom where Kim Johnson, U.S. sales executive, showed us the A/W 08 collection. Later in the week, we'll have a video of Johnson telling us about the inspiration and collaborators for A/W 08, and, Lindeberg's plans for relaunching the women's line. For now, just to wet your appetite, we've got our hands on the complete A/W 08 look book. J. Lindeberg didn't have a runway show this season, so consider this our special sendoff to fashion week!

Last week, designer Elise Overland showed us around her studio and spoke to us about her A/W 08 collection. Overland will be drawing from Ski (a large 1970's era photograph of her father skiing poised in the middle of her inspiration board) and dance clothing in order to balance masculine and feminine elements and experiment with utility-based garments in a ready to wear context. The collection will also include special hardware (though how it will manifest, we shall have to see) inspired by antique pieces she's collected from all over the world. Overland's aesthetic is very much of the jetset boheme, when entering her studio one feels as though they've stepped into Miss Havisham's boudoir where stacks of records, plush chairs, and worldly treasures trivialize everyday obligations.

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Another young line who presented their A/W 08 collection at Berlin Fashion Week was Heiress. It's easy to hold your breath at the name (Oh, no. No more celebrities in fashion!) but the pair behind the line insist that its manifesto pivots on that of old hollywood. With women like Marlene Dietrich in mind, the pair seek to create frocks for ladies of realistic size and glamorous personality. Patrick Ascher and Andreas Riedle, the two designers behind the line, have the construction process take place in Germany, where haute couture trained tailors hand sew their frocks.

All photos by Andreas Rentz

The rhythms of the world exist whether or not modernity has seen fit to erase our awareness of the physical world. Observing the celestial sphere has been a prime human task since the world was light only by fire. Traditions of The Sun helps us recapture this lineage. As we browsed the observatories we were reminded of the pyramid trends so prevalent now in jewelry. Lena Wald's Spike Ring in Silver evokes for us the striving Yucatan observatories with their cool gray stone layered to help us reach for the sky. And like the moon that reflects the sun's light in silver, these inspirations reflect back our natural world.

Earlier this week, we wrote about German designer, Marcel Ostertag and his high-end take on cheap downtown trends. If you're curious about the A/W 08 collection, which debuted at Berlin Fashion Week, here's a peek at the collection. This season, Ostertag stuck with patent materials, which appeared as bright leggings in S/S, but became more, ahem, substantial garments for A/W. For the palate, also similar to last season, there are pops of color, this time fuchsia and marigold, and a few metallic moments.

All images by Colin Stark.