Yigal Azrouël pre-fall 2012

 

Noting that he was inspired by the effortless beauty of everyday living, Yigal Azrouël took a feminine-versus-masculine route for pre-fall. “It’s about creating a look, not an item,” he said. Tailoring was key, with lean structured coats and jackets, and even soft dresses featured strong shoulders. Hemlines were longer than past seasons, with an effortless ease best demonstrated on the drawstring-waist skirts. While the fabrics were luxe — including an assortment of furs and cashmer e — Azrouël kept it youthful with playful prints and layering. And if three labels weren’t enough, for pre-fall he’s launching a small shoe collection of sculptural pumps in exotic skins.

proenza schouler pre-fall'12

Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough's recent trek through the Himalayas rubbed off on their pre-fall collection. We can see the magazine photo shoots now: Proenza Schouler girl on the side of a mountain in a nylon and mesh color-blocked shirtdress with bungee cord detailing, and on her feet, rubber-tipped pumps.

As sporty and technical as their reference points were—tweed jackets modeled after mountaineering parkas, button-downs made from windbreaker nylon, quilted coats that took cues from sleeping bags—the collection was quite polished. Here's another good example: The silk jacquard of a matching bustier top and skirt was an aerial view of mountains that they pulled from Google Earth, but looked like it could've been crushed velvet. The Velcro closure on the wrap skirt kept the tech-y couture motif going.Riffing on house classics is a proven method for the ten-year-old brand. This season's take on their signature bustier baby-doll dress comes with a performance mesh shell and a bungee cord drawstring below the bust. It has starlet-on-the-rise written all over it. Their New York cohort, on the other hand, will be pleased to see their tweedy lady jackets in bright shades of coral and emerald green, as well as a handbag offering in iguana leather, a luxe new material for them that's pricier than python but not quite in crocodile territory.

Diesel Black Gold pre-fall

 According to Sophia Kokosalaki, pre-collections should include “transitional, basic pieces, which you can wear season after season.” Hence the many daywear staples of a relatively minimalist sort that Kokosalaki designed for the Diesel Black Gold pre-fall collection. These included boxy, black leather biker jackets, oversize zipped trenches, leather pants and metallic jeans. The designer balanced the edgy lineup with a little femininity, as in a jersey dress lined in leather and a fluid silk georgette style.

the princess and the warrior

Max Azria is at it again for pre-fall, churning out those bandage dresses for Hervé Léger in a variety of ways. This time, he spun them in graphic color blocks, at times engineered to an ombré effect. He also veered into dominatrix territory, adding tough leather harnesses and belts to some of the looks.