Photos: Imaxtree

How are designers making spring florals feel fresh? They’re printing them onto tailored pantsuits for a head-to-toe trend. Peter Som‘s punchy orange and blue suit, at left, features warped floral photographs while ADAM‘s roses, center, are slightly more whimsical. If you look closely at Prabal Gurung‘s purple version, at right, you’ll notice the flowers are actually wilting—though the effect’s no less vibrant because of it.

The Row's SS12 collection. Photo: Imaxtree

Fashion thoughts usually turn to bridal post-couture. More than one editor in this office has uttered the words, “I never wanted to get married, but now I need a reason to buy Givenchy couture!” But yesterday, The Row’s SS12 presentation, inspired similar thoughts—about pants. The Olsen’s presented an entirely white collection of dresses (usually layered over pants), a skirt suit and a kimono-like gown embroidered with silver. But it was the ethereal take on a tux, above left, that made us think, “What could be cooler than getting married in pants?” Because the Row’s based on exquisite fabrics and simple, impeccable tailoring, a pair of pajama-like trousers turn black tie appropriate and a train flowing from a tux makes perfect sense. Would you wear any of the above looks on your big day?

Click here to see all the spring shows!

Photo: Silent Models

With her energetic personality and perfect skin, the 20 year-old Saara Sihvonen is proving herself to be one of a few rising stars to watch these week. Her elegant looks have already landed her at Doo.Ri and Helmut Lang—there will be many more—before she jets off to the European shows. We caught up with the psychology-loving Finnish girl to talk hot yoga, raw chocolate and her best celebrity sighting so far.

Look 14 from Peter Som's SS12 collection. Photo: Getty Images

Models with tangerine streaks in their hair showed off Peter Som‘s brilliantly bright spring collection at MILK Studios yesterday. From head to toe they were soaked in grenadine, shocking fuchsia, and cobalt blue. Charlotte Olympia ditched last season’s experimental kitten heel and offered Som platform loafers and stacked, ankle-strap sandals in their place. If the collection were a paint by number, it’s read like:

A still from "What's Up?" At yesterday’s Fenton presentation there was a slight mix-up. Though Dana Lorenz’s models were actually wearing cream and white looks sourced from vintage stores, one editor thought Wren’s Melissa Coker had provided the clothes. A collaboration between the two was wishful thinking—that will actually come true tomorrow night when they debut a film they made in collaboration with Lula‘s Leith Clark and director Gia Coppola. “What’s Up?” follows a young girl over the course of a lazy LA day. Click through to watch the trailer, and check back Monday for the whole thing! Click here to see all the spring shows!

Three looks from Jason Wu's SS12 collection. Photos: Getty Images

The world knows Jason Wu can whip up the most ladylike party frocks—but who knew the man could pull off a fancy hot pant just as well? Wu showed his spring collection above a Chelsea art gallery this afternoon and there were dresses (of course). They came in neon yellow, hot pink and stiff black silhouettes with peplums, ruffles, beaded collars and feathers. He did prints—a navy and white floral—as well as parkas. But it was the hot pants, which popped up in six of his twenty-nine looks, that made us long for summer before the season even ends. The answer to the question, “Are shorts office/party/nighttime appropriate,” has been increasingly blurred over the past few seasons. Wu just eliminated the need to even ask. Click here to see all the spring collections!

At left, Alexander Wang's fall collection. Right, spring 2012. Photos: Imaxtree

Alexander Wang‘s become a sort of young master of sporty chic. He’s referenced football, accessorized collections with reflectors and even introduced sneakers for fall. But for spring, he’s taken the anoraks and parkas that figured so heavily into that fall collection and found a way to make them warm weather appropriate: break them down into dresses. The swishy, waterproof-looking material morphed into tough girl day (or cocktail, depending on the shoes) dresses with enough pockets and zippers to be a reasonable outfit for an unusually fashion forward bike messenger. You might have to swap out the stilettos, but you’ll want to keep the cross body bags.

Costello Tagliapietra, Photo by Matteo Volta/Imaxtree

According to yesterday’s shows, laid-back luxe is next spring’s big theme. At Costello Tagliapietra, Tess Giberson, and Doo.Ri relaxed sophistication ruled—in fact, we may have even spotted a bathrobe turned evening dress at one… At Costello, fashion’s favorite burly duo took on the 30′s with fluttering sleeves and soft silhouettes, mostly fashioned in sandy tones with bits of kelly green and cerulean. A pairing of abstract floral-y prints (an modern interpretation of the decade’s sweet-pea fare) were manufactured using new Air Dye technology, an eco-friendly technique that reduces textile production’s pollutant  aftereffects. All of this was translated into the brand’s signature draped dresses that delicately emphasized the female form with that sense of Clara Bow knowing innocence. Doo Ri Chung also employed draping techniques, starting things off with a modified tuxedo shirtdress that was lightly gathered on the bias. Chung’s collection progressed with a series of louche pants and dresses, constructed of white poplin, linen tweed, and jersey—some embellished with string. Cutting through the airy whites were silkscreened stencil florals and injections of ’ultra-violet’ and ‘citron,’ an attempt at updating the designer’s trademark draped cocktail wear—a simplistic formula that doesn’t really need much tweaking. Rounding out the group was a great, focused collection by Tess Giberson, whose downtown ease was evident in multiple pairs of printed sheer palazzo pants and lightweight haphazard knits affixed to mesh T shirts. The most covetable of Giberson’s pieces were easy monochromatic suits and oddly enough, an oversized blue anorak—the kind of quintessential spring pieces that any girl could throw on for every occasion.

Click here to see all the spring shows!

Faster by Mark Fast, via Getty

Yesterday, at his first stateside presentation, Mark Fast debuted his premier shoe effort. The shoes, produced in collaboration with ALDO, accompanied his diffusion line, Faster, and were inspired by “the industrial creation of garments,” Fast told us. For spring, Faster’s crochet bodysuits and bodycon dresses are fashioned in chalky pastels and are tight, tight, tight. Fast said he’s into creating a second skin to give women the chance to, “get across a message of confidence.” Later, at Hexa by Kuho, Jung Kuho showed off his tailoring skills in a spring collection that looked like what we  imagine the most fashion-forward army brats to wear through the streets of Seoul—sharp jackets, shorts, and shirts (sometimes combined into onesies) in a palette of white, teal, and burgundy topped off with military crests. Simultaneously concise and experimental, more than one editor was spellbound by Kuho’s innovative craftsmanship.

Click here to see all the spring shows!