Emilio Pucci Fall/Winter 2011

Ultra-sexy and über-feminine, the Emilio Pucci collection from designer Peter Dundas was a certified win! The cleavage was enhanced in sinuous dresses which featured a high, jeweled collar above a cutaway décolletage while fairytale ballgowns emerging in ivy-hued silk were slashed to reveal spine, thigh and cleavage, glittering sequins and crystals in gold and forest-green fashioning one sleeve. Also a part of the proceedings today, was a capsule collection for men that Dundas debuted alongside his womenswear.
Fabrics were sumptuous, coming in all manner of materials- from loden wool, to black velvet embellished with crystals arrayed in diamond patterns, as well as a reintepretion of classic Pucci prints in hand-painted renderings. Flawless!

Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2011

After going through neons, florals and knit, Raf Simons' Fall 2011 collection for the house of Jil Sander ended up right where it began- black.
The collection was tailored in bold volumes enhanced by down-filled garments ranging from voluptuous skirts to oversized jackets; certainly, what started as minimal, ended up maximal in very little time.
There was a lot of black, but it served to set off the oh-so-beautiful colors: red, royal blue, yellow and green, as well as an old-fashioned granny-like floral print.
Knitwear played a major role with chunky two-tone sweaters and bright pullovers with geometric designs.
Indeed, this was a winning collection; one certainly designed for a confident, non-fussy woman. Full of clean, sharp line, and bold, architectural silhouettes and cuts, this collection was atypical of Simons, a designer who does exactly what he wants to do, when he wants to do it- crisp, un-trendy and completely now.

Versace Fall/Winter 2011

Filled with flower-y curlicues, and overtly militaristic influences, the Versace Fall 2011 collection presented in Milan was simple and minimalistic, yet fresh and effective.
It wasn't cutting-edge, but it certainly hit all the right notes; the silhouette was kept close to the body, and colours rarely shifted from black and white.
Models strode out in black leather military-style coats with gold Medusa buttons- the Versace house trademark- and tunics with open backs, as well as purple rollneck jumpers matched with leather pleated skirts and fur neck-warmers in white, purple and green offset by plunging v-shaped neck lines which updated the LBD.