Spring 11: Cut-Outs

Cynthia Rowley, Marni, Emilio de la Moreno

Cut-outs are all over the runways, from New York to Milan. Here, we see some circular punch-outs revealing interesting textures underneath. We especially love the sharp modernity of Emilio de la Moreno's collection.

Spring 11: Mesh, Lace, and Sheer

Proenza Schouler, Erdem, Thakoon, Jonathan Saunders

Vivienne Tam, Alberta Ferreti, Erdem, Marchesa

Alberta Feretti, Emilio de la Moreno, Louise Gray, Nicole Farhi

Mesh, lace, and sheer fabrics are all over the runways this season. The lace trend shows no signs of tapering off, and we're mostly seeing traditional lace patterns with lots of feminine whites. For a more modern, sportier look, mesh appears on necklines, sleeves and all over garments. Especially beautiful is Thakoon's white mesh and see-through fabrics together. Sheer textiles appear as layers that soften and add dimension to prints behind them, and as scrims that just subtly (and sometimes not so subtley) reveal the skin behind it. The nice thing about all this sheer-ness is how skin is not just covered by the outfit, but becomes part of it.

Spring 11: Cynthia Rowley

We blogged about dots recently and they're popping up all over the New York collections. Our favorites so far have been Cynthia Rowley's innies and outies. The physicality of the appliques is quite satisfying, like you want to tug at each one and run your hands up and down. The mix of business silhouette with the sheer stripes and circular holes is provacative and smart.