New York Fashion Week: Bold, bright & beautiful

Proenza Schouler is always right on the cutting edge with interesting fabrics and cuts. The designers reimagined classic American sportswear by twisting staples with a cool, downtown vibe in their collection for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week here. With a bold black-and-white check print running throughout and a moody color palette, slick leather and python were used for dresses, pants and coats or as embellishments within other pieces. Mesh dresses, prominent collared blouses and oversized parkas mixed well.

• The Badgley Mischka show celebrated a milestone this season, and with help from Naomi Campbell, no less. For 25 years, the dynamic duo has been creating sophisticated day wear and showstopping eveningwear for the most glamorous women in the world. The Spring/Summer 2015 collection featured metallic tweeds paired with clean, crisp whites for day. Of course, the bulk of the collection is for red carpet events and the like, and the designers took inspiration from French science-fiction movies. Gowns of silk, organza and gazar in icy blue, dreamy beige and white were embellished with shimmering crystals and sheer sleeves and skirts were revealing and sexy and oh-so elegant.

• Michael Kors’ sunny and bright collection for Spring/Summer 2015 was rooted in his expert handling of American sportswear but lovingly embellished with cheery flowers. Pretty, voluminous tulle skirts were covered in what seemed like fields of daffodils. Gleaming white lace day dresses, navy floral prints and perforated skirts were topped off with leather flower-accented belts. But not everything was floral. Tailored blazers, cropped trousers and crisp button-downs are staples for the Kors customer, which he seemingly reinvents each season. I always get a kick out of Kors’ backstage “model mood mantra.” This year it read: “It’s a summer night ... you’re driving in a convertible with the top down ... the wind is in your hair, you’re beautiful and in love ... be confident, strong and have a great show!”

• Ralph Lauren’s collections tend to be timeless, inspired by classic themes. This season, he juxtaposed “luminous colors” with “pure khakis in sleek and modern shapes” for sophisticated classics with big doses of over-the-top elegance. Vibrant citrus hues and jewel tones were paired with khaki and olive separates in silk and satin. When paired with bright whites in minimal silhouettes, the khaki pieces were quintessentially Ralph. The show closed with off-the-shoulder tulle dresses, worthy of any black tie affair, followed by a traditional safari shirt turned gown in khaki taffeta.