and so it ends...

How to close New York Fashion Week? Kim Gordon swaying about on stage is a good start. For his fall collection Marc Jacobs continued to redefine what an American fashion show can mean. It's almost at performance art level with college marching bands, the show beginning in reverse, and set designs inspired Bertolucci films all being incorporated into shows past. What does American fashion mean? What does it mean right now? How is it related to celebrity, art, sex, women, men? He's always thinking and is never short on spectacle. Last season's deconstructed boudoir mood was as infamous as its two hour delayed start time. It was polarizing, controversial, and some are still thinking about and talking about it, and isn't that the sign of a great artist? That need for provocation and redefinition continued to his fall presentation that was more somber and straightforward, which can be his way of maintaining his taste for the rebellion.

To understand and embrace Jacobs it's best to look at his aesthetic as a whole. Last season it was flash and sex, this season it's conservatism and punk. In 2007, spring was Ali Baba and fall was "Last Year at Marienbad." The thread throughout lies in the a paradox between the enfant terrible and the prim, which fits the puritanical American sensibility when it comes to sex. Jacobs gets what bubbles beneath and is able to season after season gives us something new and all his own. This season it was bathrobe coats, feathered mohawk hats, wide corduroy trousers, and dropped waists. It's a challenging silhouette, but I suppose last season's shredded dresses with exposed undergarments wasn't exactly for everyone either. Colors drained of their vibrancy to a pallor dominated the collection, but pops of pumpkin, silver, and garnet reared their heads in places. Texture could be found in popcorn sweaters, velvet evening dresses, and cashmere coats. It was devoid of something overtly referential, which can be refreshing when so many other designers go for that. It was "calm" and "casual" according to Jacobs. That they were, but a collection so diametrically opposed to last season is anything more than "uninspired" as Jacobs claimed; it's as gutsy as the last.

In their totality the New York collections were slightly unimpressive. One does have to admit their isn't a dearth of talent, especially when it comes to the emerging designers, but many of the collections were lackluster and without something interesting to say. The shows that were stronger were built on fit, construction, texture, and color--all things that mark any solid collection. Many designers got tripped up when the foundations of their collections were built on "a woman in the countryside", the cool girl as defined by an ex-model, or Kurt Cobain. I'm not a woman, but I think women look their best when they're wearing something comfortable, something with movement, and something that flatters and flounces about their shape. Proenza Schouler, Threeasfour, Costello Tagliapietra and Narciso Rodriguez get the female form and adorn them in such sexy, modern ways. The resurrection of Halston was one of the most unflattering collections of the week with models drowning in fabric or pants that clung too tightly. I love minimalism, but there should be some control in the proportions. (i.e., poor Irina Lazareanu) Michael Kors' Hitchcock heroines were memorable as were Rodarte's blood thirsty fairies.

The menswear collections were varied as well. The man-boy aesthetic seems like it's here to stay and the one collection where it was apparent but done really well was Duckie Brown. Great shades of gray and aubergine and the proportion of long shirt, short jacket are things I will try for fall. Michael Kors sent out a solid menswear collection with his Cary Grant figures in nerdy glasses and incredible turtlenecks. Rag & Bone was an early standout of the week with their dark take on "Blade Runner" meets Victorian hero.

There was so much range personality in the best shows of the week that it gives the fashion conscious faith in American fashion. However, one can't help but wonder what the Europeans have in store.