While the fashion flock has headed across the pond for the runways of Milan and Paris, we’re recapping the major fashion themes we just saw in New York—and there is lots to love. Designers delivered collections full of fantastic American sportswear pumped up with great trends and a fresh attitude that will make for exciting shopping come fall. The biggest news was the neutral color palette. Here's a summary of what’s to come for fall.

Neutral color palette:

Marc Jacobs

Rich camels, cool greys, classic navies, calm ivories and strong blacks rule the runway. With a palette this neutral, true design became the star of the shows resulting in stronger silhouettes, amazing textural fabrics, the return of the pantsuit, a cavalcade of outerwear and much more.

Pantsuits:

Michael Kors

These aren’t plain, pinstriped boardroom productions. Pantsuits are sexy for fall. The news is in the cut of the jacket or the pant silhouette. Watch for soft draping to counter strict tailoring. Modern jackets have asymmetrical and wrap styles with seamed or folded details. Boxy, waist-length jackets paired with pleated pants. Unexpected pant shapes include jodhpurs and harem pants.

Dimensional texture:

Thakoon

Fall fabrics were out in full 3-D force on NY runways. Watch for rich, textured fabrics such as matelasse, brocade, velvet, nubby tweeds and other menswear fabs, fuzzy shearlings, extreme cable knits, loopy, fringe-y yarns, and sturdy double-faced wool. Dimension also played out in the details of faux-fur sleeves, hoods or hems.

Decorative shine:

Designers kept things interesting by adding a layer of shine to an otherwise neutral color palette. Embedded stones, crystals studs, encrusted glitter, tone-on-tone and even matte sequins added a touch of bling to nearly every collection. Elements of shine were often placed strategically on shoulders, sleeves or lapels.

Wide leg trousers:

Peter Som

After seasons of second-skin leggings, designers loosened up and offered a modern alternative—the wide-leg trouser. Higher waists elongate the silhouette. Lean and fitted through the hip and thigh and cut from beautiful, drapey fabrics make for a sexy, ‘70s vibe. The bootcut pant has the slightest flare of the hem for a less extreme silhouette as seen at Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim and Vera Wang.

Sweater dressing:

Alexander Wang

Sweater dressing never looked so good in looped yards, hook rug fringe as well as in pieced and patched textural combinations. There were tribal-inspired patterns, over-sized shapes, geometric blocked patterns along with classic luxurious knits to layer to your heart's desire.

Strong outerwear season:

3.1 Phillip Lim

You’ll need a veritable wardrobe of coats for fall. With so many great options you can’t pick just one. Sleeveless coats. Razor cut, crumpled cashmere (from Michael Kors. Gotta have it!) Capes and ponchos, luxe hooded anoraks and more. Replace last season’s motorcycle jacket with an amazing shearling for fall.

Longer hemlines emerge:

Jason Wu

It should come as no surprise—after seasons of micro-minis—that longer hemlines should emerge. There were fluid maxi lengths in interesting prints at Peter Som. Transitional asymmetric hemlines that paved the way from short to long at Phillip Lim and BCBG, delicate fabrics played against masculine menswear at Jason Wu and knife pleats added movement to menswear patterned soft silk at Rag n Bone. While the longer hemlines made headlines, short skirts haven’t disappeared entirely.

Layers, layers, layers:

Rag & Bone

Fall took on a nomadic turn through the layering that was present in nearly every collection. Softly draped suiting was layered with knits. Slinky jersey tops paired with deconstructed cargo pants. Urban travelers piled updated plaids on top of plaids. Sweaters were layered over dresses and leggings. Leg warmers added an extra layer—just so. Shearling jackets wrapped over filmy dresses. Speaking for myself, I'll need a bit of practice to get all this layering right come fall.

And that's that. NYFW Fall 2010 in a nutshell. We've loved covering all the action for you, and call us crazy, but we're already looking forward to spring!

"Film Noir as a contemporary metaphor for youth, romance and sophistication tinged ever so slightly with a sense of mystery. A new and deliberate emphasis on day and tailoring tempered with sleek silhouettes, sporty underpinnings and feminine elements. Dresses reflect careful draping, unusual mixtures of dressy and day fabrics and for obvious night, gossamer layers of embellishment constructed on sheer stocking sheaths of stretch tulle. Giant dramatic fistfuls of distressed pearls create a sense of extravagance and disheveled glamor."

Strolling across the runway to get my seat at the Phillip Lim show, I saw that it was covered in a marble pattern in a palette of ivory, camel, gray and black. The same marble pattern was also used as the back drop.

(Phillip Lim's backdrop)

(Phillip Lim's runway)

The same palette from the marble strolled down the runway for look #1 in the form of an exploded-check mohair skirt.

Look #2 had the same exploded check in a cape coat over suede flared jeans. This flared pant leg looked truly modern as opposed to the ultra skinny pants we've all been wearing for seasons now.

There were seventies moments throughout the collection in strong pieces that every Phillip fan is sure to love. Extreme asymmetric hem dresses, a black waxed motorcycle jacket, shearling bomber jacket, a Windsor-blue tuxedo blouse, steel blue tuxedo jacket and of course, those flared jeans.  

Here are Phillip's thoughts behind the collection taken from his show notes:

"Somewhere in the air between disco and punk lives a woman boiling with youthful revolt but distinguished by unexpectedly classic style. Her clothes are meticulous, but her way is easy. She says goodbye to dreamy glitter and too much skin, a confident enigma with nothing left to prove.

Her look is modern, polished, streamlined. Her obsession with baroque flourishes surprises many and amuses her to no end. She has this punk rebellion, so she will cut her dress. But it seems cut by the wind, for this was where magic happened, somewhere in the air between inherent and apparent."

The last look is an example of one of the "cut" dresses mentioned in the notes.

Designer Thakoon Panichgul set a cerebral tone using an echoing heartbeat as "music" when we entered his show space. Models passed through glowing white sculptures lit from within.

Look #1 was a gray cable matelasse cape-sleeve hooded jacket, black merino asymmetric cardigan and black canvas jersey paired with gray merino wool layer leggings. The jacket was like a luxury-class hoody.

The matelasse fabric was the first indication of Thakoon's dedication to texture in this collection. Other fabrics included rumpled velvet, fox and mink furs, double-faced twill, burnout velvet and leather.

Technically advanced but familiar silhouettes included pullovers, bomber jackets, shift dresses and track pants. The color palette ranged from gray to black and ivory to yellow. Tiny pompoms were an unexpected and whimsical detail that actually worked for a fall collection .