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Stella McCartney Fall 2008 at Paris Fashion Week

My reactions to Stella McCartney’s shows are always a “oooh, cute” or a “oh, that’s nice” — not like the full-on lust I reserve for other designers. This season, she gave us a typically wearable F/W ‘08 collection that wasn’t jaw-dropping either way, but had some great pieces that I’m sure will sell well. The camel coloured chiffon dress above was probably my favorite piece of all, although I also liked Jessica Stam’s metallic silver cocktail dress and a series of gauzy balloon dresses in dove grey and blue.

Most of all from this collection, I loved the shoes. The stilettos and boots were designed with platforms so precarious that one model walked down the catwalk with her shoes in her hand. Comfort be damned, I want them anyway.

Gucci fashion show at Milan Fashion Week Fall 2008

I’ve been a bit apathetic about some of the things put out by Frida Giannini in the past, but I’m quick to admit that the F/W ‘08 Gucci collection is everything I want to wear. I’m in love with not only the clothes, but the freshly fucked hair, the khol-rimmed, smoky eye — the smoldering sexiness of it all.

Last spring, Phillip Lim described his collection as a girl who has been traveling and constantly picking up things on the way. As much as I love Philip Lim, I didn’t get that connection in his Spring 2008 collection.

I got that vibe from Gucci.

The clothes reminded me of a fashionable girl who’s following her rockstar boyfriend from country to country, hopping on jets, swilling champagne and collecting more clothes as she goes. She snatches up black jeans stateside, riding boots in London, ethnic prints in Russia. When she arrives somewhere just in time for a fabulous party, she shakes an ethnic scarf from her stuffed baggage and fashions it into a dress that becomes all the rage, natch.

D&G collection at Milan Fashion Week Fall 2008

Just when you thought this would be a season where plaid takes a backseat to print, D&G, the diffusion line of Dolce and Gabbana go out of their way to prove you wrong. The boys put plaid on fabulous shirts with blouson sleeves, long skirts that rippled well below the knee, pant suits, and even tights.

Some of it is a little bit too “hill country” for my taste, but the pieces can be easily separated and worked into your own wardrobe. A little plaid goes a long, long way.

Oh and I’m totally going to start knotting my scarves under my chin and rocking it out babushka-style.

Agyness Deyn for Versace Fall 2008

Donatella Versace has officially traded in over the top sexuality for ladylike glamour. For fall, she sent out floor-skimming gowns that will satisfy the celebrity set. Nifty minidresses covered in art print drew the hem above the knee for a kicky cool.

Donatella continued a major color trend for fall with purple, purple everywhere.

What am I pining for? The gorgeous yet understated one-shoulder black cocktail dress that hits below the knee but looks as sexy as anything the house has ever created.

One of the great things about London Fashion Week is seeing the innovation that comes out of a city of designers free to create outside the fashion influences of a New York, Paris or Milan. What you get is quirky fashion and a community that creates interesting collaborations like the symbiotic fashion friendship between Agyness Deyn and Henry Holland.

Some of the more daring designers who showed at London Fashion Week were Gareth Pugh whose Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome looks made models look like futuristic warrior women or Nathan Jenden’s stark masquerade ball runway show, from which my favorite item was a metal covered corset dress that must have weighed a ton.

Of course, Henry Holland remained his playful and cheeky self and closed his House of Holland show with his friend/muse Agyness Deyn in a tartan wedding dress topped with ceiling scraping antlers.