CLOTHES FOR ALL SEASONS

       New York Fashion Week thinks of spring - and every other time of year
       The styles shown over the eight days of New York Fashion Week were meant for next spring - not that you'd know it.
       The collections in previews that wrapped up last Thursday were more covered-up than usual. Leather, suede, long sleeves and black were all over the runways.
       There were nods to the season - leather was lightened up to be more luxurious and buttery than the rock-star looks in stores for autumn, often in caramels, yellow, silver or white.
       Proenza Schouler showed a leather mesh style, similar to the material golfers use for their gloves.
       But the clothes speak to the idea of seasonless dressing, which is all the buzz among retailers since the temperate-zone weather - and the economy - are so unpredictable.
       RALH LAUREN
       Basic means something else when you're Ralph Lauren. It means silver-sequined slashed jeans, organza "work-shirt" dresses and even a metallic blue-lame gown with all the trademark details of coveralls.
       Lauren, who embodies the classic American sportswear look, said he wanted to craft spring-season clothes that reflected America's "resilient spirit" - and its work ethic.
       The simplest looks on the catwalk, which was lined with the Lauren clan and Janet Jackson, were the floral dresses that featured sweet, delicate floral prints reminiscent of those farm wives wore in the 1930s.
       Denim was more dominant than usual, with silhouettes ranging from a tailored, suit-style jacket to rolled-ankle work jeans.
       The real highlights were the outfits that somehow seamlessly mixed the two worlds of luxury and the Everywoman, like a pink gauze gown with silver embroidery worn with an indigo-coloured striped jacket.
       ISAAC MIZRAHI
       Forget clothes for a minute: Isaac Mizrahi knows how to put on a show.
       With a rain spray, wind machine, spotlights and a staircase incorporated into his catwalk, Mizrahi even sent out one model in a golf cart wearing a black-sequin shorts suit - and a whitte top hat, of course.
       The eveningwear is what sparkled: A strapless black cocktail dress with a giant white rose on the bust line, and a fluted gown covered in black lace and tufts of tulle, both captured classic Mizrahi and his theme of a retro country club.
       Mizrahi also needs a fix of kookiness, though, and this go around he accomplished that with an iridescent lava-lamp-fringe coat. He always sends off his audience with a smile.
       PROENZA SCHOULER
       Feathers or tinsel? Take your pick from the Proenza Schouler runway.
       The design duo of Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez had plenty to keep the fashion flock - including Leighton Meester and Courtney Love - buzzing. The first set of skirts and dresses had the jacket-tied-around-the-waist look with the silhouettes permanently fixed with zippers and buttoms on the backside.
       Skirts were often paired with navy tailored jackets with very sculptured shoulders, an evolution of a current trend.
       Next up were short shift dresses that alternated feathers and tinsel at the hemline. Some had a feather print to boot, others had a variety of prints that looked like tropical fish or reptiles in unexpected and brighter-than-normal colours for this label.
       Then came the lingerie-inspired cocktail dresses, some with bra tops and cut-out midriffs - another Fashion Week trend - and tiers of mini-ruffles as the skirt.
       ANNA SUI
       It took some guts to put band-majorette hats on the runway, but the glory in the faces of a clearly entertained audience must have made it worthwhile for Anna Sui.
       The bouncy, youthful dresses in the spring collection Sui presented were born from the designer's love of the 1967 movie "Doctor Dolittle". The Victorian circus was the most inspriational part of the film, she said, That came through in bow blouses, and cropped-pants and shorts suits, albeit shrunken ones.
       A handful of preppy, cable-knit, tennis-sweater looks didn't seem to quite fit the theme, but they were cute anyway.
       Anyone who follows Sui's look knows she is a bit of a '60s junkie - it came through this season in modshaped shift dresses and psychedelic colours, especially purples, yellows, greens and turquoise blue.
       Most of the outfits captured the optimistic vibe that Sui said she thinks the industry - and consumers - are ready for now.
       MARCHESA
       Marchesa turned out some real showstoppers, dresses tailor-made for the label's red-carpet fans.
       The greatest feat was a black-and-white duchess satin strapless grown folded like a fan in the front and with a fully laser-cut skirt.
       Designer Georgina Chapman said the late Anthony Minghella's production of "Madame Butterfly" served as her inspiration. "The music is so beautiful. I listened to it recently and though about now feminine and fragile it was, and that it was about love."
       The Asian aesthetic was carried throughout most of the collection, including an oyster-hued, hand-painted floral obi coat and an embroidered obi jacket, worn with black evening shorts. Chapman also played with some sheer fabrics, often in a nude tone, which ended up a game of strategic peek-a-boo.
       Unfortunately, if you're not in Oscar-nominated actress, there might not be many occasions to wear any of the dresses.