The Globe and Mail

There was a lot of fringe happening at Nicholas K, a line founded by siblings Nicholas and Christopher Kunz. Think American sportswear through a darkly tinted goth lens.

Asymmetric lines and slouchy silhouettes were additional themes. While this dress may look like a lot of sparkle, its matte metallic finish makes it day-to-night transitional (for those who work in creatively minded offices, that is).

A fur panel like this can come across as awkwardly placed. And won’t the other shoulder feel neglected?

Nicholas K also designs men’s wear. Most of the looks had an apocalyptic cowboy look, including saggy trousers, which continue to appear on runways, whether or not men take to them.

For Fall 2012, BCBG presented a collection inspired by the architectural aesthetic of Bauhaus style. Going from the functional, linear ideas espoused by Walter Gropius to these floaty, pleated dresses may be a bit of a stretch; but the colour-blocked palette is certainly borrowed from painter Josef Albers.

(Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

There was another disconnect to the show, held in the large stage at Lincoln Center: While many of the outfits featured panels, patchwork and trim in real fur, the program notes cryptically referred to the material as 'natural' with no mention of the f-word.

(Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

So this fur handbag was referred to as a 'natural frame clutch.'

Backstage after the show, designer Lubov Azria (wife of BCBG’s founder Max Azria) acknowledged that they had been fielding grievances from PETA but that they used scrap pieces from previous years, not newly acquired fur.

(Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

There were some sharp designs, such as this belted trench coat in canvas and leather. Note the wide-leg pants in deep burgundy, an early contender for next fall’s hot hue.

(Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters)

The Chadwick Bell ideal woman is one who gives off a thickly refined air but seeks risk and unsanctioned pleasure. The label, which started in 2008, used Picasso’s Boy with a Pipe, opium dens and the push-pull of masculine and feminine as starting points in this collection.

(Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Bell built upon ladylike looks that evoke Hitchcock heroines; this red-hot suit shows a double peplum jacket with a seductively wide-angled slit skirt.

(Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Some of the gowns, like this one that mixed emerald polka dots and midnight blue feathers, seemed tailor-made for society women under self-imposed mansion, er, house arrest.

(Carlo Allegri/Reuters)