It is that time of the year when all the designers release their eagerly awaited pre-fall collections. There are so many brands and collections out there, that a designer has to really work hard to stand out. And with the release of Yves Saint Laurent’s pre-fall collection, stand out it did!

The main highlights of the show seemed to be two things – leather and leopard prints. We all know that YSL does some brilliant stuff with leather in their men’s collections. And they have now translated this brilliance on to their women’s line too. The marriage of the leopard and leather separates was done so skillfully, that this hitherto rocker chic fabric was taken to the most sophisticated heights. The new collection from Stefano Pilati was a 180-degree change from Spring’s parade of vibrant colors, which makes sense as we are entering the Fall. This collection from Pilati also seemed to be a call-back of all the YSL retro favorites, with a modern 2012 twist. The palette of the show was majorly some classic fall colors like black, camel, white, gray, blue and green. The straight silhouettes and crisp wide-leg pants they featured are some of the most chic seen in recent times. The other pieces in the collection were basically short-sleeve fitted dresses with collars, drop-waisted dresses with pleated skirts and sleek jumpsuits featuring plunging necklines and matching blazers. Some of the stand-out pieces were a tan motorcycle jacket with contrasting black sleeves and collars paired with an A-line skirt, and the brilliant rigid leopard print trench coat, and the black and white leopard tiered dress. I guess Pilati found some really unique ways to use these fabrics, without making them look like tawdry. Even after seeing so many examples of these fabrics used in the last season, Pilati proved that there was still a lot to be done with them.

YSL’s pre-fall show was a huge success. It managed to keep its reputation as the premier design house for trenches, as well as renew the faith in their favorite fabric- the animal print, all in the course of one great collection.

Category: Fashion