Pamela Love. Images by Samantha Casolari.

Giving Fashion Week’s weekend shows a vibrant start, Mandy Coon introduced models with multicolored hair—a dramatic complement to her Fall 2011 collection’s minimal pieces. Shifting away signature prints, Coon focused this season on shape. Selecting brick red and acid green as key hues, and naming a photograph of her mother from 1979 as the initial inspiration, she created high-waisted pants and sweeping full skirts. Using trademark leather, she crafted simple pieces with a notable weight. The unexpected addition of tie-dye was paired with a bondage-inspired leather jacket, resulting in an unmistakably Coon aesthetic. A sheer paneled cape worn over a calf-length skirt and billowing dress rounded out the impressive offerings.

Moving to Milk Studios, Pamela Love…

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… known for her slightly dark statement accessories, put models in white dresses and placed them in front of a large crystal-like sculpture. Arctic makeup—the work of Kristin Gallegos—involved light blue eye shadow, which was dusted around and between their eyes, and a light sheen covering the forehead. Love’s jewelry, meanwhile, included updated trademark pieces—such as pyramid bracelets—which were reintroduced as weightier silver cuffs with ever-more architectural spikes. Hammered neckplates were reincarnated to drop lower on the sternum, contributing to the collection’s Wiccan warrior undertone. A bracelet with an enlarged pentagon was a wholly new and stunning addition. Layered chunky necklaces in horn and bullet shapes held icicle-esque mineral stones, suggesting a nature and machinery duality while necklaces with large spikes also had an ice-like aesthetic, recalling the very long winter we’ve been battling. Across the hall at Suno…

Pamela Love

…high-necked bowed blouses and wide-leg pants were executed in the brand’s always inspired textiles, which this season involved florals and a bamboo tree print. These clashing and mashing patterns added designers Erin Beatty and Max Osterweis’ trademark edge to ladylike hemlines. Deconstructed multicolor knits balanced weightless shift dresses and billowing frocks. Shawls and dresses were layered over floor-length skirts, underlining innovative styling. -Liz Doupnick

Still at Milk, Erin Fetherston gave her feminine cocktail aesthetic a slightly Eastern feel. Sequined harem pants were paired with structured blazers boasting origami bow details. Wrap dresses and brocade jackets balanced soft gauzy layers executed in a muted palette of soft metallics and every shade of ecru. -Stefania Yarhi

Erin Fetherston