A Tale of Five Collections: Part One

I was going to tackle my summary of Pre-Fall 2010 much as I did the various city round-ups of Spring/Summer 2010. Highlighting trends. Pointing out designers you may not know. In my notebook there is a page with headings. Gray. Patterns. Suiting. Beneath each lay designer names. My handwriting begins to devolve at the end of the page. Letters run together. Words are crossed out, scribbled on, circled, and underlined. I looked at it all and decided to begin again.

Discussing the five collections I love proves to be the easiest way to tell the story. To touch on all of the themes continued from Spring/Summer 2010 as well as those that you'll see more of once the Fall/Winter 2010 shows start in about a month's time.

I'll begin with a rather familiar friend.

The SS2010 Burberry show was among my favorites of the season. And though the pastels and metallics were beautiful, my mind associates the brand with deep, rich colors and heartier fabrics. For Pre-Fall there is an abundance of gray, winter white, brown and black as well as a single shot of blood red. Impeccable tailoring with a hint of ease. And through it all, you will find the best handling of the military theme that is beginning to appear everywhere.

Jason Wu is also a consistent favorite here, but for Pre-Fall he revealed a side of himself that I have never seen. Darker. More womanly and less girly. Sexy. With tighter silhouettes, leather accents and higher hems. The palette is close to that of Burberry, and the military inspiration can be seen here and there, but these dresses are for a somewhat younger set.

However, this season it's a younger set on the verge of true adulthood.

To come will be the final three where you'll find the prints of spring featured in the colors of fall.


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