Really, there is no wisdom there. The idea is that a designer puts some edifying precis of the show’s inspiration together and leaves it on each attendee’s seat. At Donna Karan the designer asked: “How do you define a woman?” Did her suggestions (“street and sleek”, “powerful and vulnerable”) give any clue to the nipped, pinstripe tailoring with the Edwardian-equestrian-meets-Marlene-Dietrich vibe? No, they did not. Meanwhile, Diane von Furstenberg’s woman was “effortless and elaborate” and “contained multitudes”, which sounded contagious and made no mention of the riot of colour and jigsaw-puzzle prints that were to follow
Photograph: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Something we always knew really. But this season, perhaps because he had finally got all the Dior rumours out of his system, he seemed to go for his shtick (quirky, lumpy-on-purpose, insane mix of references) with some gusto. In a sea of coats and tailoring, his Mad-Hatter-Dickensian-on-acid collection stood out a mile. This was a show that inevitably will take a while for the industry to digest, but the rolling list of influences goes something like this: the musical Oliver!; Dr Seuss’s Cat in the Hat; creepy ruins; Kurt Cobain’s tinsel scarf; Jamiroquai; pilgrims. Taken seperately the curved coats and the bulky, paisley brocade midi skirts will prove influential. The smart money is on those pilgrim Swarovski shoes becoming a cult-status buy and as for the campaign model – Helena Bonham Carter must be a shoo-in Photograph: Randy Brooke/WireImage
If you ignored the oversized shaggy fur coats and the giant-sized puffers, there was evidence of a neon trend among show attendees. Mostly this was expressed in the form of Céline handbags and the odd pair of bright pink trousers or an orange skirt. Asos – get ready Photograph: Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images
Fashion is done with contrast sleeves and is now focusing on collars and cuffs. At Michelle Obama-endorsed label Thakoon a purple leopard-print collar turned a camel coat into what fashionese would describe as “a piece”. At DKNY, giant shearling aviator collars were worn as an accessory with black leather-detail dresses. Donna Karan’s mainline teamed strapless dresses with a cuff detail, while 3.1 Phillip Lim had silver PVC collars over navy rib jumpers. Beckham’s bright contrast collars were inspired by son Romeo’s baseball kit, while cuffs on dresses looked as if they had been all but sliced off Photograph: Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Fashion people are not entirely daft. Champagne saucers were scant because hot beverages superseded fizz as the pre-show welcome drink. Victoria Beckham served peppermint tea in minimalist glass cups, while padded-jacket specialists Moncler Grenoble served sweet hot chocolate at their sub-zero show/performance at the ice rink in Central Park Photograph: Billy Farrell Agency/Rex Features
But you can forget about combats and fatigues. Autumn 2012 is about a bossy and neat kind of military. At Victoria Beckham, the army green and epaulette details were elegant and sophisticated. Meanwhile, at Tommy Hilfiger the first section of high-necked coats that opened the show had something of the Queen’s guardsmen about them in gorgeous navy/burgundy and khaki. The quilted field jackets and the houndstooth had a mounted military feel too, and if you could get past the ever-so-slight Jaeger-does-Balenciaga feel of this collection it was actually rather fab Photograph: Randy Brooke/WireImage for Tommy Hilfiger
And why not? If you get influenced by anyone, it might as well be Phoebe Philo. It was most obvious at 3.1 Phillip Lim. The designer opened his show with a minimal white cape coat, sharp two-coloured trousers and sleek jackets with bonded shearling panels. It was crisp, commercial and owed a debt to Céline. Incidentally, two-toned trousers put in a second appearance on the Preen catwalk, a label that also has form for splicing sharp tailoring with more artistic references – this season, the abstract expressionists provided inspiration for the design duo. One to hope Zara gets its teeth into Photograph: Mark Von Holden/Getty Images
But there were a few ideas that several designers seemed to agree on. Flippy skater skirts had some catwalk air time at Victoria Beckham, where they were worn with flat biker boots and chunky rib socks. At DKNY, in an otherwise dull show, one leather trumpet-hem flippy skirt got several nods of approval. There was also a micro trend for prints, with interesting backstories. Thakoon mentioned the Hoerengracht – Amsterdam’s red light district, Preen mentioned Beatrix Potter’s botanical prints and Von Furstenberg went for surrealism and, erm, jigsaws Photograph: Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
David Beckham and Anna Wintour. As seen at the Victoria Beckham show in the New York Public library. He with excellent posture, a posh camera and what looked like an Elnett-secured swept back do. She with fur, phone and security detail. Alas, it was a one-time outing, and later in the week we had to make do with Carine Roitfeld and her lookalike son Vladimir chatting about the DVF show. The divorced frow couple – French Vogue editor Emmanuelle Alt and her predecessor (Carine) – apparently caused headaches for PRs because the pair had to be placed with a generous buffer of at least one block of seats between them Photograph: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
Reports of Whitney Houston’s death broke as fashion week was getting into swing, but tributes to the singer were less ubiquitous than expected. Donna Karan closed her DKNY show with Million Dollar Bill and finished her mainline with a celebratory I’m Every Woman tribute Photograph: Richard Young/Rex Features
