New York AW10 | Day Seven

I admit it, I love anything to do with a bleached out brick wall or some resemblance to a converted old warehouse. So it's no surprise I look on to Reem Acra's Autumn Winter 2010 collection with some admiration for the backdrop alone. But the garments them selves could have been the result of a love child of Donna Karan and Oscar De La Renta's. Clever draping and stunning burnt colours appropriate for the season weren't exactly a new idea, but there's still hope for this label with Spring Summer to come.
The master skill in Ralph Lauren's collection for reading what his customer might now be ready for has kept him in the game for over four decades. So it's only fair that he took inspiration from his own archives to introduce floral chiffon back into his equestrian inspired look. It was perfectly reigned in though with velvet coats and tan belts, sitting pretty next to fabulous jodhpurs and his famous gowns.
L'Wren Scott started out all very prim and proper, fit for number one fan, Nicole Kidman with pastels and white all mixed back with a bit of velvet for good measure before turning all dominatrix on us. There were thigh high corset fastened black leather boots, and well, make that black leather in all forms and shapes for the middle of the collection. Then it turned it's pretty little head in it's pretty little tilted box hat back to Hollywood glamour normally associated with this brand. Keeping up?
J. Mendel is a label on many a celebrities lips, but animal rights activists the world over would be frothing at the mouth over this fur heavy collection. How many fluffy animals had to suffer to make all these fur coats, stoles and shawls? Not exactly fitting with the mood that Stella McCartney and others have so passionately fought for, this collection is a miss.
A couple of seasons ago, it was all about the fake 'padded' derrier, now if Calvin Klein has anything to do with it, all attention is turning to the arms. Over sized rigid fabric gave the illusion of sleeves worthy of 'The Incredibles', however there was nothing even remotely Disney about this collection. It was pure elegance and sophistication right through the black, white, violet, burgundy and back to black collection.