BELSTAFF PRE-FALL 2013

 BELSTAFF

 PRE-FALL 2013

 MAUD WELZEN (DNA)

 "We love our heritage," said Belstaff's Martin Cooper, "but I never want to be beholden to it." Off come the shackles, in rushes the fresh air. 

 Belstaff, which has been cranking out motorcycling gear for the better part of a century, has, since its revival in 2011, navigated a course between its history and the demands of its new status as a high-fashion house. 

 With the pre-fall collection, the label's first for this important sales season, it moved forward yet again. The line, Cooper said, was, "more than anything, exploring an urban feeling for the brand." 

 The first section he dubbed city dressing, and while the racing details remained—in the form of padded leather elbow patches on a double-woven cotton car coat—the pieces here all felt more like part of a real woman's wardrobe.

 Leather motorcycle pants gave the old vroom-vroom feel, but they matched up with the soft, slinky silk tops Cooper uses for masculine/feminine balance. 

 A country-mouse section was "equestrian meets biker," in the words of the designer, with high quilted-leather riding boots and quilted jackets. Fox fur vests and a gorgeous navy shearling brought us back to the city.

 Despite the line's skyscraper prices, details like lamination on knits and oversized zippers gave the pieces a hit of low-key cool. ("Hardware is our jewelry," Cooper explained.)

 As an added bonus, loosening heritage's hold on the whole gave Cooper a chance to embrace it more strongly in parts.

 Since relaunching the brand, he's re-created the classic Trialmaster jacket in leathers and skins, but never in its original waxed cotton. Here it was back in action, only slightly nipped and tucked.

 BY MATTHEW SCHNEIER

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10 CROSBY DEREK LAM PRE-FALL 2013

 10 CROSBY DEREK LAM

 PRE-FALL 2013

 Derek Lam has crowned IMG's new face Amanda Murphy his 10C girl for pre-fall. Murphy, who practices radiology and rides horses, flew in from Chicago for the lookbook shoot.

 As for the clothes, the designer took a simple approach, meshing the ease of summer with the polish of fall. There were relaxed, oversized shapes like karate-style palazzo pants and origami-meets-animal-print boyfriend sweaters.

 A "slicing and dicing" theme ran throughout the range on color-blocked blouses, bootcut trousers, and lace-up booties, a first for Lam's contemporary line.

 AMANDA MURPHY (IMG)

 The label's de rigueur wide-leg pajama pants reappeared, this time in a floral pattern worn with a tunic and an oxblood leather jacket. 

 But those weren't the only pj's on hand. He also included a silk drawstring set with tapered legs.

 BY JESSICA MINKOFF

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BURBERRY PRORSUM PE-FALL 2013

 BURBERRY PRORSUM PRE-FALL 2013

 PRE-FALL 2013

Hit the town for fashion shows in December and you'll clock a lot of buttons spelling "BURBERRY" in the front rows.

 KARLINA CAUNE (NEW YORK)

 Christopher Bailey has built an empire on outerwear—a new flagship, constructed from the ground up, opened just last week in the Windy City—and there was no shortage of wantable coats in his new collection for pre-fall: a caban with oversize snap closures on the inside of the lapels, a twofer topper in navy with a removable black leather capelet (remove it and the coat doubles as a sleeveless dress), a cropped shearling bomber. He whipped up trenches galore, many of them in abstract animal-print calf hair.

 In keeping with the graphic look of the printed calf hair trenches, Bailey showed easy color-blocked knit dresses, and, for something with a stricter silhouette, a zigzag-stripe turtleneck worn with a grommeted leather pencil skirt, and a sheath dress in a dégradé black-on-white dot. 

 CHARLIE FRANCE (NEW YORK)

 For men, there was a heart-print button-down shirt and colorful cashmere pullovers with Beefeaters, bobbies, and bowler hat men on their fronts.

 They added a bit of charm and levity that wouldn't have gone amiss on the women's side. All in all, the collection could've done with a few more surprises, but that won't stop the registers from ringing.

 BY NICOLE PHELPS

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