Dsquared² Pre-Fall 2012

Dsquared²

PRE-FALL 2012

Good girl gone bad. That's how Dan and Dean Caten described their latest lineup forDsquared². But if you remember the label's Spring runway show, complete with theatrical Heineken bottle breaking and Glastonbury-esque mud stomping, pre-fall seems squeaky clean by comparison.

So maybe the Dsquared² vixen was sent off to a reformatory prep school—she's got the argyle sweaters, tweed separates, and toggle coat now to prove it—but she's still the type to sneak out for a cigarette break.

While there will always be sexy party dresses in Dsquared²'s collections (see model Barbara Palvin working a curve-hugging mini with lasercut details in slide 13 for proof), a refreshing sense of restraint and, dare we say it, a newfound conservatism informed a few of the looks here.

You could picture Mad Men's Joan Holloway going from a day of work to a swinging party in the Catens' cobalt blue sheath with its high neckline and low, sash-tied back.

BARBARA PALVIN (IMG)

PHOTO COURTESY OF STYLE.COM

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MARCHESA RESORT 2012

MARCHESA RESORT 2012

Slim Aarons' legendary book of photographsA Place in the Sun was a starting point forMarchesa's Resort lineup. The floaty coral caftan with the matching bead embroidery at the shoulders and the thigh-scraping metallic lace dress were designed for parties by the pool and cocktails under the stars rather than the red carpet and the photographers angling for shots beside it. "We take a more sales-driven approach to this collection," explained designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig.

A label can't live on celebrity dressing alone. Still, we wouldn't be surprised to see a few of these numbers on the pages of a gossip magazine. Neither the showstopping allover silver beaded floor-length dress with a plunging back or a white goddess gown with a shawl of jeweled fringe made it through their first day of appointments before being requested for a shoot or an event or some other fabulous thing.

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ELIE SAAB RESORT 2012

ELIE SAAB RESORT 2012

JUJU IVANYUK (NATHALIE)

Elie Saab is out to change his all-evening-dresses-all-the-time image. The Beirut-based designer hired photographer Cedric Buchet to photograph a model in a pantsuit for his Fall ad campaign, and there were more of those fitted looks in his first-ever Resort collection. Nothing androgynous about Saab's two-piecers.

Double crepe jackets were cut close to the body with a little flip at the hem, and trousers came in two styles: lean and leaner. A chartreuse tie-neck blouse worn with high-waisted pants as snug as jodhpurs played into fashion's current fixation with neons. After-dark options were likewise bright—fuchsia, turquoise, red—but the silhouettes weren't as new. No matter, his celebrity following will snap them up for the red carpet.

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