What will get women back into the stores? Designers came up with a range of answers for Spring, lower price points being one of the most compelling. But this wasn't a season of "safe clothes." There was less talk of "brand DNA," and the best collections had a tangible sense of adventure. Representing some intriguing opposites (utility chic and 24-hour cocktail dressing, the city and the country, sport and lingerie dressing), here are Style.com's favorites.
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1. Balenciaga
Saying au revoir to the eighties, Nicolas Ghesquière went back to the future and the streets, arming his tribe of urban warriors with hooded vests, sporty skirts, and the sexiest leather jeans around—all spliced together in ways that defy both the imagination and the copy artists.
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2. Balmain
Christophe Decarnin found a way to put a new gloss on the tight, tattered, T&A formula he's made his own—mixing tailcoats, army surplus shirts, and leather cargo pants with chain-mail minidresses and sequined loincloths. The look is so hot, it's probably illegal in several states
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3. Celine
Good news for women looking for practical yet utterly polished clothes: Phoebe Philo's back. Leather tees, high-waisted trousers, and a sophisticated new take on leotard dressing are the keys to her contemporary—and in a way, daring—brand of minimalism.
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4. Chanel
Lily Allen sang with her band, but forget the theatrics. Karl Lagerfeld, at his playful best, took Chanel rustique. In the imaginative mix: nubby tweed suits (this time with thigh-split skirts), frothy chiffon party frocks worthy of Marie Antoinette, and, yes, clogs.
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5. Givenchy
Riccardo Tisci nailed it for Spring, marrying the gothic, rocker sensibility that has made fans of Madonna, Rihanna, et al. with real-world chic in the form of graphic black and white suitings, draped toga dresses, and striking tribal prints.
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6. Lanvin
Never mind the recession. Alber Elbaz refused to play it safe: He laid on the chunky jewelry, loaded his dresses and jumpsuits with a souk's worth of gold beads, displayed his mastery of color, and even did clever things with polyester. Fashion lovers the world over will find a way to get their hands on these confections.
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7. Marc Jacobs
Ruffles by the mile, lamé, sheer leggings, Kabuki makeup, fanny packs—they were all in the zany mix at Marc Jacobs. And the season's unmissable underwear-as-outerwear trend? As usual, you saw it here first.
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8. Proenza Schouler
They've oft claimed to design for the bright young things they call their friends, but this time Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough really delivered. Their surf- and skate-influenced abbreviated animal-print dresses are destined for heavy rotation on the party circuit.
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9. Rodarte
Kate and Laura Mulleavy spun a tale about a woman-turned-condor into the stuff of fashion fantasy: one-of-a-kind dresses and gowns patchworked together from ravaged bits of leather, cheesecloth, plaid, and cobwebby knits. It made for apocalyptic magic on the runway.
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10. Versace
This is the season of the cocktail dress, which means it's Donatella Versace's moment to shine. And shine she did with chain mail, cutouts, eye-popping prints, and even a plastic miniskirt or two. It was vintage Gianni, but with a twenty-first-century woman's eye for cut, proportion, and fit.
Islamabad Time
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