Marc Jacobs leads the fashion pack by going further back than anyone else - back to the early 20th century - to find inspiration. Of course, these are the modern incarnations - in metallic fabrics and worn in wild mix-and-match combinations. He also offered waistcoats, back-wrap skirts with ruffles, menswear suit pieces, gaucho pants, draped striped gowns and a stunning black satin cocktail dress with a braided belt.
The spring 2009 Marc Jacobs collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008.
The Miss Sixty spring 2009 collection was inspired by the more worldly and luxe 1970s instead of the bohemian 60s. Said designer Wichy Hassan: "In the collection of Miss Sixty, there's always hippie styles but for next season it's a little more elegant, a little more chic."
The Miss Sixty spring 2009 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. The collection hit on many of the major trends to emerge so far at New York Fashion Week: rompers, harem pants, one-shoulder tops, miniskirts and loose, easy outfits.
Donna Karan's DKNY was born in the 1980s and the designer is darn proud of it. Her 20th anniversary collection for spring was all about highlighter colors, minis and jumpsuits for the next generation.
Diane von Furstenberg's collection brought back some favorite styles from the 1970s and '80s to the runway. It included mini-length kaftans, a loose white cotton-lace dress for down time and a gold harem-pant jumpsuit.
"Flashdance" anyone? Alexander Wang's spring collection, presented in a vast industrial space, isn't for everyone, but his fans will love the update given to the 1980s mantra of excess. The outfits combined the edginess of the decade's early counter culture - with tailored jackets minus sleeves, leather fringe tops and mesh bodysuits - and the flash that came a few years later.
Designers like Rag and Bone heard London calling - from 1975, when the looks of the London youth movement in the years when mod morphed into the punk dominated runway.
At Lacoste, silhouettes got even smaller with the more urban styles, inspired by the mod 60s. "Slim-fit cuts are the rule rather than the exception in this new line," the designer said.