isabel marant- marant's rock chick girls turn into "boho pirates" for spring 2010 according to style.com. i liked the slight irreverence of this show, it wasn't overly fashiony or serious and the slouchy boots and flouncy dresses are things i can see a lot of girls wearing.

hussein chalayan- this collection showed off a more wearable, streamlined design from chalayan than i have seen. i am much more used to his abstract, out of this world designs. the closing look, which is the white one shouldered dress to the far right is so cool because it has a white fist closing around the single shoulder strap.

givenchy- the cone hats were super weird and super ugly, but some of the clothes were actually nice. did you love this collection as much as every fashionista seems to?

giles- giles deacon really is a genius. he combined colors and fabrics that i would never think went together and made it all chic. the show was very kitschy with some dresses and other clothes featuring tarantula print. there were a lot of frills, short hemlines and outrageous accessories, but a fashionista with a more classic style sensibility could still find great pieces in this collection.

giambattista valli-  i absolutely loved this show. it seemed more pared down from the usual valli shows (and it was), but as the show went on, the glamour, the structure and the beauty of his designs were apparent. featured were confetti like ruffles, feathers, huge ruffles around the neck, beaded embellishment, animal print and sheer bodices.

gareth pugh-  woohoo for gareth pugh! although his shows always have a gothic overtone and i am by no means a goth, his clothes are so well made that you can't help but love his collections. these are versatile clothes that you can buy and put in your wardrobe and adapt to your style. that is the genius of gareth pugh.

emanuel ungaro- style.com is so judgmental. just because lindsay lohan's name was attached to the ungaro show it was deemed a failure. first of all, the house of ungaro got rid of it's creative director estaban cortazar and hired estrella archs and had lindsay lohan as an artistic director. for their first hand at a collection for emanuel ungaro, they did a good job. they delivered on great party dresses that a lot of young hollywood could wear. yes, the sequin heart pasties were strange, but they were few. style.com said the harem pants were absolutely atrocious, but honestly...no designer has won me over in the harem pant department, not even the loved givenchy. picking on lindsay lohan, just because she is lindsay lohan is pretty low. kudos to estrella archs and lohan for a good debut collection.

elie saab- elie saab can do no wrong. this season he took some inspiration from balmain and made an edgier collection with a darker color palette and emphasized shoulders and tight dresses. his show still had his signature stamp of class though.

collette dinnigan- lovely. my favorite piece is the aquamarine ombre sequined dress.

christian dior- amazing, as usual! :) this collection was based on 40s film noir and wartime fashion as well as playing around with the look of lingerie that john galliano explored in detail for his recent collection for christian dior.

chanel- this was a fun show that centered aroung all things country and farm based. models had wheat in their hair, walked out of a hay filled stall and walked flirtily around the chanel set with clogs and remixes of the chanel suit. a lot of great, fun, young, stylish clothes were featured that i know celebs will be jostling for. the show featured 72 beautiful looks, and all of the models looked genuinely happy to be there.

celine-  phoebe philo does it again. watching this show made me feel clean, happy and bubbly. the design aesthetic was sharp and clean, the color palette for spring was great and i loved the model's clean faces and gently pulled back hair. the clothes were simple, but not boring.

ann demeulemeester-  i like it. i like it. long skirts are love, especially when made this well.

andrew gn- andrew gn delivered with more stunning jewel embellishments, bright colors and modern girly cuts of clothing. i am so in love with the second dress from the left. it's purple print is divine and this dress would pair perfectly with my purple gem ring that i have yet to wear.

alexander mcqueen- this show started off with a bunch of out of this world, abstract, weird, unwearable looks and then eased back into wearable pieces with amazing prints. this show was absolutely insane. the work that went into making these prints and these intricate clothes, and the model's makeup and sculpted hair was immense! and the shoes were so high. this collection was based on the sea creatures that humans are supposed to turn into when our polar ice caps melt. >.>

akris- akris's shows are always perfect. they make perfect clothes. perfect lines, perfect fabrics, perfect colors that can benefit any warddrobe. this brand should have long been on my list of favorites, and now that they are there, they will probably be there forever. the color palette consisted of white, cream, powder blue, pale beigey grey, black, pumpkin orange, brick red and chocolate brown. the big, pillowy yet structured white bags they featured were heavenly.

a.f. vandevorst-  sheer garments paired with thick and skinny leather belts. with this show, it was all about presentation. i wasn't expecting to like this show, but the show had a clear, cohesive message and that always attracts me.

fashion week notes

rochas- i did like this collection, but as with many other good collections, i needed it to be great. women are always on the search for great pieces, not just good.

limi feu- the model's didn't even look good in the clothes and limi yamamoto (the designer) didn't look happy after the presentation...so....why should i be excited about this?

anne valerie hash- i fell in love with one look, a metallic top and skirt combo with a ruffle going down the midline of the skirt but a lot of the other pieces weren't wearable and did not excite me.

rick owens- this collection got interesting at the end with some metallic pieces and cropped jackets with high collars...but by then i had lost interest.

nina ricci- all of the red carpet dresses from this collection were absolutely stunning, but peter copping (the new guy at nina ricci) has taken the house in a way different direction than olivier theyskens did, so it was kind of discombobulating...but i'm sure i'll be in love with this new direction for nina ricci next season.

bruno pieters- didn't excite me.

balmain- the show was good, and interesting, but i couldn't find enough pieces that i liked. i know, i know...it's balmain...but i just couldn't like enough pieces. all of the models looked like glammed up cavewomen or old army vets in model's bodies...and some of the looks were great, and others can only be worn by models.

balenciaga- straight hair, prints, architectural draping, blah, blah, blah....whatever.

azzaro- i loved the cute dresses and jackets azzaro presented, but i was expecting more, especially since i loved their fall 2009 collection so much. the closing dress was absolutely beautiful and simple. i'm sure we'll see it somewhere other than the runway.

maison martin margiela- this wasn't the best show but it wasn't death dealingly horrible as style.com lamented. still...it does seem like margiela has lost a bit of its touch.

issey miyake- dai fujiwara, the head of issey miyake at the moment, tried to cover a bunch of themes in his show and it didn't work to the show's betterment.

undercover- this show was sporty and futuristic, with dark ambient prints, anorak blouses, slim and short trousers, models with slicked back hair and orange lines drawn under their eyes and brown leather detail on some of the clothes.

sophia kokolasaki- the show was good, but i was expecting more. some of the shoes were absolutely fab though.

jean paul gaultier- his inspoiration: madonna's cone bra that he designed, gang girls, cornrows and afro puff ponytails, overalls....he played with very interesting concepts and let pregnant jourdan dunn walk the runway but he still couldn't win me over.

haider ackermann- lots of draping and shiny fabrics, and one model walked the runway holding half of her chest.

commes des garcons- this show had a few coherent looks such as looks 17 and 28. and this was one of the better commes des garcons shows i have seen but it was not collage worthy....sorry :/

kris van assche- nothing special. black, leather, and greased down hair.

dries van noten- lots of ethnic prints and slouchy cuts. this collection was't as fun and inspiring as his past two.

costume national- ennio capasa was looking to make a really intrigueing collection, but it didn't work for me. the models looked great in the super, super short shorts...but who else would? most of the gowns were shapeless and looked half tattered so costume national isn't getting my vote for the spring 2010 season. although i loved the bag karmen pedaru walked out in for the first look.

yves saint laurent- i don't know what's going on with ysl, but this collection was sloppy, random and a bit too on the minimalistic side for me.

vanessa bruno- an improvement from past shows.

tim hamilton- a very severe look of black lips, slicked back hair, monochrome super tailored outfits and nipples exposed through sheer blouses. i liked some of it though...not the nipple exposure part.

chloe- this show was sooo boring. the simplicity didn't look chic at all. what was up with the monogrammed pieces? i wonder how the ad campaign will look for this collection.

wunderkind- this was weird. sheerness, body stockings based off of medical wrapping, arrows....??

hermes- i absolutely loved the sporty clean preppiness of this show. the theme was tennis, and jean paul gaultier made beautiful use of the theme. i fell in love with his tennis infused classic hermes bags the instant i saw them, and i loved that the models' hair look so clean. however the looks weren't standout...they were nice though.

miu miu- i did like this collection, but i couldn't find enough pieces that i absolutely loved. it was a great show though, with cute cat, dog and tree prints, colored shirts and above the knee office skirts and long braided ponytails on the models.