Celine Fall 2012

Through her signature minimalist lens, Phoebe Philo brought forth a sportier chic with the season's call to volume on wide boxy coats and cropped leather jackets for Céline's Fall 2012 collection. There was a subtle departure here from Philo's typical stuff — though it may even be an exaggeration to suggest it's a deviation at all. Rather, Philo enhanced her usual minimalist-chic with a few bold pops of color and a little luxe texture. Shapes were wide and boxy in Céline's signature fashion, but we did get a taste of bold flavor on fuchsia-washed fur on a long coat and a puffed up sweatshirt-style top. The usual fare was a simplified, albeit volume-injected exercise in androgynous outerwear silhouettes, cropped pants, and slouchy track pants. In every pared-down piece, from the leather shells to the streamlined clutches each model had in hand, Philo honed her craft for an uncomplicated cool.

• Trends: Boxy coats, leather, color-saturated fur, colorblocking, minimalism.
• Colors: Blue, orange, black, white, pink.
• Key Look: The boxy navy car coat with brown leather lapels.
• Accessories: Wide oversize handheld clutches; white pointy-toe pumps.
• Who Would Wear It: Fashion's unfussy types.

All photos courtesy of Céline

In lieu of her usual runway show, Phoebe Philo — eight months pregnant with her third child — opted instead to show Fall 2012 Céline via two small showroom presentations. Despite the lighter crowd and the more intimate setting, the collection still packed quite a punch. The main message was volume — an idea Philo dabbled in for Pre-Fall — but here, it appeared full-on and in supersize proportions; coats were pumped-up to the max, ankle trousers were wide and pleated, sleeveless tops were geometric and boxy, and dresses had super-rounded shoulders and sleeves. Colorblock — the collection's other main element — was used to great effect in combinations of tomato, cobalt, navy, and camel.

Photos: Courtesy of Céline