Mark Badgley & James Mischka’s creations have spent their fair share of time on Hollywood’s red carpets, but the instant their Fall 2012 runway show started, you knew this was all about Manhattan magic at midnight. A digitally enhanced video of the Gapstow Bridge in southern Central Park was given life with a three-dimensional effect of the moving shadows of trees. Snow fell behind the models as they whisked Badgley Mischka creations out of this winter oasis and down the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Theater runway.

Victor de Souza’s Fall 2012 collection brought valor and drama his past collections lacked. Previously, we’ve seen Mr. de Souza play with lighter fantasies of ballet and romance, but this season, he pulled out all the stops. With floral ball gowns and Victorian maxi skirts, de Souza drew inspiration from Spain (an apparent recurring theme in New York this season), and further carried out that motif via matador tassels, ultra-tailoring, taffeta rosettes, and arm-length leather gloves. “I wanted to go back to the roots of fashion, when it was dedicated and sophisticated, but with a twist. I let the masters of Haute Couture… Dior, Givenchy, Balenciaga… speak to me,” de Souza said.

Behnaz Sarafpour made a much welcome return to the New York Fashion Week lineup with her Fall 2012 collection. Her trademark easy-to-wear designs were still very much in evidence (she lets the models wear flats!!), but the clothes were executed with a subtlety and a level of imagination previously unseen in her twelve year career. Her Resort collection of a few weeks back gave some hints as to this new elevated level of design, but this 20-piece Fall collection far surpasses any of her previous work.

view the full collection in our Photo Gallery story by Landon Peoples photos by Ned and Aya Rosen web editor Rachel Reneé Just when the industry began to yawn at color blocking, Carlos Campos revisits and revives the ongoing trend with poise and panache. A good designer is not bound by the cycles of trends, they instill them. There’s something so effortlessly airy about the Carlos Campos Fall 2012 menswear collection that one just can’t stop looking. The clothing, bereft [...]

It’s been a fascinating experience to watch Reem Acra’s growth as a designer. In her earlier work, Ms. Acra was more feminine and flirty, then in the middle of the last decade her pieces became more form-fitting. Her love of metallic embroidery and stone and crystalline accents began to emerge and her work began to become increasingly capable of creating those jarring moments that send the red carpet photographers into a frenzy. For Reem Acra’s return to the runways of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week (she’s been showing in her Fifth Avenue atelier for the past few seasons), she turned up the volume on the glamorous sexiness that is quickly becoming her new signature.

After Monique Lhuillier’s radical foray into slinky urban goddesses with her Spring 2012 collection, her very pretty and demure Pre-Fall collection left me wondering if she was searching for some middle ground of artistic expression. Her Fall 2012 collection left no doubt that she’s not searching for anything, she’s showing that she can do both styles with ease and brilliance.

The most packed house I’ve ever seen in the Studio space in the tents at Lincoln Center created a charged atmosphere that awaited the Fall 2012 collection of designer Kati Stern’s label Venexiana. Stern stands out quite a bit from every other designer at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. She does things her own way and is utterly indifferent to any and every convention in fashion. Mrs. Stern is a lover of the excessive and the over the top, and her clothes mirror this attitude in every respect.

British-born and Central St Marten’s-trained Jenny Packham has had success in almost every conceivable area of fashion that interests her. World renowned couture and bridal designer, check. Red carpet go-to for some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, check. Worn by relevant royalty, check. Made clothes for movies, James Bond no less, and television, Sex and The City even, check. What was left to do? Take Manhattan, apparently.

The forecast looks clear for Dean Quinn. The former Central Saint Martins Womenswear Designer of the Year winner was all about clean lines and witty, functional details in a palette that swiftly remedied any winter malaise of the guests entering his Fall 2012 presentation. Hot pink and red with grounding blue, cream, and nude lit up the 25-year-old designer’s presentation at Milk Studios on Saturday; a welcome sojourn for an audience laden in leather and faux fur.

Stacey Clark’s Fall 2012 Odilon collection is directly derived from the more confusing bits of David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks.” Inspired by Lynch’s long takes and psychological twists, Clark sought to transpose this same mysterious nature to her own work. The result is highly stylized, with Lynch’s graphic space transferred to prints for dresses and sweaters throughout the collection. Other references to the series included the classic puzzling quotation, “the Owls are not what they seem,” printed on a long sleeve shirt, all orchestrated to contribute toward presenting a secretive girl icon.

After several seasons of making a steady noise, Katie Gallagher’s Silent Soil is her most grounded collection yet. On Thursday, February 9th, The Standard Hotel helped showcase trademark Gallagher moments veiled by a subdued seduction. Faded was the amped aggression of last season, making way for a new serenity. Her “favorite so far,” Gallagher’s collection charmed in silk, chiffon, leather, boiled wool, and shearling.

Walking into the Rachel Antonoff presentation was walking into a fantasy. Models stood in front of black wildlife cutouts, while others were on a small boat, perhaps arriving from a faraway land where all things cute reside. Peter pan collars and hearts were amongst the imports, while checkered embroidery dazzled the stage.

A Détacher’s distinguished lady is taking a trip to Japan. She took her knitted high-waist pants with her from last season, but this time paired them with more structured boxy cuts. Kimono shapes populated the upper half of the body as bellowing sleeves began past the shoulder. Oversize Peter Pan collars were also on the menu, paired with oversized knitwear for comfort. Other neck details included futuristic thick corded necklines, worn with veteran designer Mona Kowalska’s signature touch of knitwear, here knitted skirts which even the most conservative of us women long for in the depths of winter.

This season, designer Jeremy Laing looked to his key strength, layering, to form a collection marked by imposing shoulders, myriad textures, and fine detail prints. Mohair and rich wools made multiple appearances, in contrast with sheer silks that flowed beneath their heavier counterparts. Arms, legs, and flesh peered through opened zippers, as jackets and coats looked to shoulders for support.

Southern American girls with a Japanese twist is the theme behind this line and its bright colors, structured silhouettes, and complex textures. Fashion fanatics clad in black glided past young ballerinas in tutus at the Alvin Ailey Studio to get into Emilio Sosa’s Fall 2012 Esosa NY presentation. Stools were set up on a stage placed in front of street-side windows, permitting passers-by a glimpse of the colorful debut.