Jason Wu’s Fall 09 show started out a little St. John, a little reminder of his first lady intrigue - with bits of full skirted Oscar thrown in. The textures varied from start to end, with jacquards and tweeds making up the seemingly ill fitting separates, which led into contradictory etheral, flowing, shimmering translucent fabrics and feathers. If Matthew Williamson and Ralph Lauren had an evening wear baby, Jason Wu would adopt it. The dresses were gorgeous - fresh necklines and lightweight fibers that seemed to glow, but it was as though he envisioned the first half of his show for your mother and the second half for you. If the separates were a greater interpretation of his dress aesthetic - I wouldn’t have to reference so many designers to try to explain his design philosophy.

Rachel Comey’s show came across as a little from Russia with love. There is a lot of layering, which isn’t necessarily risky for fall - but the apparent opaqueness, chunky knits, and boxy shapes helped to separate the collection from Marc Jacob’s past. The knotted knit headwraps and mauves, greys and muddied berries reminded me so much of Chloe Fall 2006. Comey’s use of mixed prints - floral & animal, on the flip side were youthful and ironic. It’s important to note the longer hemlines in this show - a lot of pieces were pretty much below the knee or to the floor, a little bit from your grandma’s closet that was comfortable, cozy, and exactly what gets people excited about fall fashion in the first place. Structure was not in the cards for Comey - and when she did feature pants it was very Tonne Goodman/Virginia Smith, very fluid and baggy - which unlike a lot of the shows thus far, tied in beautifully with her use of drape throughout the rest of the show.