>> Roksanda Ilincic's particular breed of edgy elegance was in full effect for Fall 2012. The designer found inspiration from "leisurewear, weekendwear, countryside wear," and mixed it with slouchy menswear silhouettes and superluxe fabrics for a sporty kind of refinement. "It is a little bit about women rebelling at having to look immaculate all the time and wanting to become more free like a man," the designer explained.
>> The theme, this season, was passion. "I liked the idea that my woman had been misbehaving down in the garden, and had to find her way back to the manor house. So she's a little disheveled and messy," Holly Fulton explained. The designer culled inspiration from Lady Chatterley's Lover and humid garden greenhouses, resulting in a selection of sleek cocktail dresses and fluid separates in a dynamic palette of scarlet, berry, teal, and black. The designer's signature deco prints were a strong point as usual; for Fall, they came in mirrored art nouveau arches or in the form of languid orchids, palm fronds, and insects.
>> Mary Katrantzou injects her signature surrealist prints with a bit of bold angularity for Fall 2012. Digitized geometric patterns and futuristic grid prints are cheekily summoned from near-obsolete items: typewriters, rotary phones, and number 2 pencils. Silhouettes are structured and full, with hourglass shapes and nipped-in waists to keep them looking superfemme. As for the color palette? It's just as eye-poppingly rich as one would expect from Katrantzou: emerald, lilac, canary yellow, and brilliant blue.
