CHRISTIAN COTA FALL 2012 RTW

Beset by well-wishers at his packed presentation at The Standard Hotel,Christian Cota took a minute to display a by-product of his labors: his hands, which bore a faint but distinct black tint. "I've been painting and dyeing fabrics all week," he explained cheerfully. 

CHRISTIAN COTA

Cota, who likes to get down and dirty in the design process, gave himself plenty of opportunities to play this time around. Inspired by the textiles and handicrafts of his native Mexico, the designer created a polished, exuberant collection featuring 13 original prints and embroideries—all riffs on indigenous graphics—jumbled up on draped cocktail dresses and slinky silk pants.

This explicit focus on prints, long a signature of his, marked a return to Cota's creative roots as well. And he approached them with a new sophistication. To make sure the colors of the embroideries—handcrafted by a women's collective in Mexico—popped, he went over the threads with a paintbrush. (This explains the stained hands.)

The print-on-print trend appears to be sticking around, and Cota's use of texturally rich embellishments ensures these pieces will stand out. There was a definite confidence to this collection, something that has been lacking from his work in the past. "I wanted to do what I love," Cota said of this season's approach, "even if it's a risk." Risk rewarded.

FALL 2012 RTW

Ann Demeulemeester Spring 2010 Men´s.

"I felt enlightened," said Ann Demeulemeester, by way of explaining her motivation for Spring 2010.

Her enlightenment lightened her presentation, especially after the warrior extravagance of her Fall collection. Two words: no layers. The proposal was as simple as a suit worn shirtless.

The occasional black waistcoat was so discreet as to remain almost completely hidden. "I wanted people to see the garment," Demeulemeester added. Of course, there was more to the collection—but not much.

She was also looking for "sensuality, but in a masculine way."

A sheer cardigan was scattered with sequins. With a matching top, it made a sparkly twinset (i.e., more sensual than masculine).

Long silken coats recalled a boxer's robe. Another coat, in icy-white viscose, was more kimonolike. (There was a pajama set to go with it.) The offering felt edited in every way. It wasn't simply the absence of layers.

Demeulemeester's signature languid proportions had similarly been reined in. And the usual poetry of her presentations was accordingly drastically reduced.

Perhaps it made for a more comprehensible collection in the showroom (the gal's gotta sell, after all), but I imagine ardent fans are shedding a silent tear.

John Varvatos Spring 2010 Men´s.

As you may have heard, John Varvatos wears his rock 'n' roll heart on his sleeve.

Included in the press kit for his latest show was an invitation for bands to enter a global competition, which he's running with Island Records, to discover "the next great rock 'n' roll band."

The thought of a bored fashionisto chancing upon this opportunity for a career change—and acting on it—was too appealing for words, especially with the option for an image adjustment right there in front of him (or her).

Varvatos has always dressed his inner fantasy of a rocker, but that ideal dropped a decade or so—and at least 20 pounds—this season.

He opened with outfits that featured narrow shorts and little waistcoats, with the emphasis on a distinctly un-rock 'n' roll white.

Concise the show may have been, but it also felt subdued. Shots of color arrived in parkas in a pale yellow and a coppery red, but otherwise a gray mood dominated.

And yet the collection felt more sophisticated than usual.

Elongation equals sophistication? Perhaps not a great message for the love-yourself-the-way-you-are brigade.

Alternately, Varvatos is smart with details—like the hook-and-eye closing on a cotton jacket, or the ankle buttons on a pair of trousers—and the quietness of the pieces allowed for enhanced appreciation of his skill.