christopher kane

>> Donatella Versace and Christopher Kane tapped the rough-and-tumble youths of London's Camden Town for their Fall 2012 Versus collection. "The skinheads, the glitter, the acid tie-dye," Kane described backstage. And sure enough, there was a grittiness to the collection — and it was evident from the moment the first model appeared on the runway clad in a leather-sleeved jacket. Colors were dark and moody — burgundy, violet, and acid yellow — and everything from the skintight pants to the short little dresses was printed in psychedelic graphics or slashed-and-laced with grommets. "She's a rebellious, tough, angry, modern girl," Kane explained.

For Versus Fall 2012, Donatella Versace and Christopher Kane took it to the streets of London, more specifically to the Camden underground scene. Translation: it's all about the tough girl with a confident punk attitude and a penchant for grittier, trippier silhouettes. Between the bright tie-dye prints and rocker-chick lace-up minidresses, we could tell that Versus was honing in on its playful spirit and younger edge. While the collection offered a solid lineup of minis, over-the-knee leather boots, shredded-front tees, and general punk-appropriate attire, there were also some super-structured leather outerwear that struck us as totally wearable, no matter your personal style preference. Although Donatella and Christopher combined rougher elements — rock music, teenage angst, and more — the result can be easily transitioned into a sexier cocktail look. See more Versus details below.

• Trends: Bright tie-dye-meets-ikat prints, lace-up minis, strong leather silhouettes, and rounded shoulders.
• Colors: Fuchsia, turquoise, yellow, black, burgundy, and midnight blue.
• Key Piece: The punk-rock minidresses that featured sequins, psychedelic prints, or lace-up details.
• Accessories: Boxy purses, over-the-knee leather rocker boots, and tough biker boots with colorful piping.
• Who Would Wear It: Ladies who aren't afraid of showing a little skin with more than just a little attitude, like Heidi Klum, Diane Kruger, and Mila Kunis.

For Fall '12, Christopher Kane brought a decidedly Gothic vibe to the runway, returning to the leather, leopard, and PVC detailing he's used in earlier collections. Known for combining the futuristic with classic feminine details, Kane showed many looks that could be considered signature — there were knee-length dresses with supersexy cutouts, paisley-print skirts teamed with chunky cable-knit sweaters, and sleek, pinstripe leather trousers that gave a dose of Dick Tracy-cool to an otherwise subversive mix. Get the full breakdown below.

• Trends: Stripes, leopard, grosgrain prints, cable-knit sweaters, boxy jackets.
• Colors: Red, black, purple, blue, white.
• Key Piece: The leather cutout dresses in almost wood-like prints were sexy, yet sophisticated.
• Accessories: Obi-style belts, chunky heels, simple colorblock clutches.
• Who Would Wear It: Christopher Kane loyalists like Alexa Chung, Emma Stone, and Chloë Moretz.

>> Lacquered leopard print, fuzzy cable-knit, and a heavy dose of iridescent purple. This is not a list from which fashion dreams are usually made. Throw in some black-and-white pinstripes, velvet moire print, and a dash of super-slick leather, and, well, the potential for chicness is not looking good. Unless, however, you're Christopher Kane. Kane tapped all those elements — plus a few more surprises — for Fall 2012 and whipped them into a Goth-tinged frenzy that managed to look modern, refined, and decidedly cool.

>> This evening at London's Savoy Theatre, a who's who of British fashion gathered for The British Fashion Council's annual awards. Victoria Beckham, accepting her Designer Brand of the Year award from presenter Marc Jacobs, told the crowd, "I am SO nervous," before shedding a few tears and adding: "This is rubbish." Alexa Chung, who took home the British Style award — which is decided by a public vote — dedicated her award to "girls who dress like awkward boys." Kate Hudson, presenting Red Carpet Award to Stella McCartney, regaled the audience with an anecdote about the dress McCartney designed for her to wear to her first Oscars: "I wore Stella and made every worst-dressed list. The next day, I called Stella, and she said, 'Face it babe, it was the hair.'" And finally, Sarah Burton, who took home Designer of the Year, called the award "the icing on the cake for what has been an amazing year."

The full list of winners, below.

Designer of the Year: Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen

Menswear Designer of the Year: Kim Jones
Accessory Designer of the Year: Charlotte Dellal for Charlotte Olympia
Designer Brand of the Year: Victoria Beckham
Model of the Year: Stella Tennant
Emerging Talent, Womenswear: Mary Katrantzou
Emerging Talent, Menswear: Christopher Raeburn
Emerging Talent, Accessories: Tabitha Simmons
New Establishment Award: Christopher Kane
Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator: Sam Gainsbury, Gainsbury and Whiting
Red Carpet Award: Stella McCartney
Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Award: Paul Smith
British Style Award: Alexa Chung

>> It's a week of double-timers: two Haider Ackermann looks, two Calvin Klein looks, and one model who appears twice. See who's wearing what — and where — in the slideshow.

>> In honor of their upcoming Versace For H&M collaboration — in stores and online Nov. 17 — the two brands pulled together three events in one last night at New York's Pier 57. Through a gilded hall of mirrors, designers (Anna Sui, Joseph Altuzarra, Christopher Kane), supermodels (Linda Evangelista, Helena Christensen), and other such notables (Uma Thurman, Chloe Moretz, Nicki Minaj, Prince) were swept into a dark room framing a serpentine catwalk, on which Versace favorites like Abbey Lee Kershaw, Natasha Poly, Lindsey Wixson, and Daphne Groeneveld wore black leather headscarves, heavy kohl, and stomped to speaker-pumping music.

Cue the next: After her runway bow, Donatella Versace gestured guests to follow her into a green-lit, disco ball-hung room covered in oversized palm tree wallpaper. Minaj took the mic — dressed in Versace for H&M, of course — and inspired Alexander Wang to sing along in the audience to every song. Much to Donatella's pleasure — and Natasha Poly's, who sat on the shoulders of a friend so she could videotape the set on her phone — Prince was up next on stage. Versace fist-pumped when Prince gave her a shout-out, clapped above her head . . . and that was before his encore of "Purple Rain."

Finally, the last of the three-prong event: crowds that had been lining up before Prince even took the stage were unleashed into the shopping area. As Style.com notes, "Many of the women in the crowd made beelines for the collection's men's clothes."

A video of the show, below.

>> Last year, when Christopher Kane and J Brand first teamed for the 5x5 project, there were hints that the partnership could span further. So it was no surprise when, this past Summer, the labels announced that they would again be collaborating — this time on a full jeanswear line for Kane's Resort 2012 collection. Now, the first few images are finally out, courtesy of The Telegraph UK. The 17-piece collection features raw-edged flares, jean jackets, and capris — in Kane's signature fluorescents — plus, classic cut-offs and straight-legs in a crisp palette of white, black, and faded blue. For his part, Kane seems quite happy with the team-up, saying, "J Brand are the go-to company for fashion denim, so I could not think of anyone better to work with on this. This is something that I can see as a potential long term relationship rather than a short term collaboration. My Resort collection was so much wider this season, and I think that the denim really complemented the collection."

Click through the slideshow for a first look at the capsule, available online at Net-a-Porter this November. Prices start around $300.