New York Fashion Week: Daring and digital womenswear for spring 2013

Sheer layers, Helmut Newton-inspired harnesses, sporty bra tops and lingerie lace as seen at Victoria Beckham, BCBG Max Azria and Jason Wu all seemed to point to a 1990s rewind, the increasing fascination with female sexuality and the pop culture dirty read “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Pictured is a look from the Jason Wu collection. (Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images)

Sept. 14, 2012 2:08 PM PT

NEW YORK -- With bold stripes and checks, graphic modern lines, slashes of painterly color and digital photo prints, the women’s spring-summer 2013 collections at New York Fashion Week were a visual explosion, a feast for the eyes that at times ventured into Op Art territory. Were designers playing with our perspective? Perhaps. Technology has made computer printing on fabric easier than ever, which makes using original prints one of the easiest ways for a designer to stand out from the pack. But on a deeper level, the visual cacophony of color and print seemed to be part of a larger discussion on sensory overload in the Digital Age -- which is only going to get more intense when the Internet-surfing Google Glasses that debuted on Diane von Furstenberg’s runway become a reality. The clean lines and pared-down silhouettes reminiscent of the 1960s seemed to be an effort at cleaning up the clutter, while the visual overload of stripes and grids at the Marc Jacobs show, for example, was a commentary on it. Here is a rundown on the big trends noted during the week, which ended Thursday. Click here for more runway coverage.
--Booth Moore, Fashion Critic

Another look from the Jason Wu collection. (Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images)

A unique take on the trend came from Reed Krakoff, who has been the creative director of affordable luxury brand Coach since 1996 and launched his own namesake ultra-luxury brand in 2010. (And in May his name was lifted into the headlines when Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s wife, Ann, wore a $990 Reed Krakoff bird print shirt for one of her TV interviews and was labeled out of touch.)
In a palette of nude, blush, washed-out beige and rose, Krakoff’s spring collection was kinky modern, boudoir sporty, provocative but not raunchy. Sheer, lingerie-inspired layers, including stocking jersey track jackets and polo shirts, were worn over bra tops and liquid satin dresses. Boxer shorts and pencil skirts came in leather, and crisp suiting was done with color-block details. Degrade feathers fanned out over peep toe sandals, like haute versions of marabou bedroom slippers. (Andy Kropa / Getty Images)

A look from the BCBG Max Azria collection. (Richard Drew / Associated Press)

The look was perfected by Joseph Altuzarra, a rising star on the New York fashion scene since launching his collection in 2008 and whose fan base includes Jessica Chastain and Kate Bosworth, who both sat front row.
His inspiration was the 1992 film “Orlando,” based on the book by Virginia Woolf about an English courtier who wakes up one day transformed into a woman. The story, like the collection, traveled through time and place, from the 17th century to the present, Elizabethan England to imperial Russia to the exotic alleys of Constantinople.
The look was haute-workwear-meets-baroque-Bedouin: utilitarian-looking railroad-stripe or khaki cotton jackets with gathered peplums and two-way zipper details; Deco beaded silk pants; blazers and halter dresses with gold fringe neck scarves attached; ma-cramé fringe skirts and draped “scarf dresses” with scalloped embroidery or rich crystal embellishment. Altuzarra executed the complex, special clothes beautifully. (Jason DeCrow / Associated Press)

Diane von Furstenberg, Ralph Lauren, Marchesa’s Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman and Rag & Bone designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville all had cases of wanderlust this season, showing Indian- and Morroccan-inspired tunics over pants and Bedouin-inspired layering. Dresses and jumpsuits were draped like saris. Blazers came with tassel neck scarves or South American-inspired tooled leather trim. And shoes sparkled with a maharajah’s jewels. Pictured is a look from the Marchesa collection. (Fernanda Calfat / Getty Images)

A look from the Diane von Furstenberg collection. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

Clean, geometric lines, stripes, color-blocking and cutouts were among motifs seen at Alexander Wang, Victoria Beckham, Narciso Rodriguez, Michael Kors and Chado Ralph Rucci. Pictured is a look from the Alexander Wang collection. (Fernanda Calfat / Getty Images)

Then there was Marc Jacobs’ stunning tableau of black and white stripes, ranging from referee-appropriate vertical bars to pencil thin horizontals, plus graph-paper grids. The patterns graced T-shirts, coats, suits, shoes, handbags and sequined shimmering pantsuits. Midriff-baring shirt-and-skirt combinations, animal print pieces and a sweatshirt emblazoned with Mickey Mouse added to the mix. No doubt Jacobs, who is also creative director of luxury brand Louis Vuitton, was inspired by the repeating patterns in avant garde Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s famously polka-dotted work. (Vuitton recently collaborated with Kusama on a capsule collection in stores now.) The show was dizzying, almost too much to process. And that seemed to be the point. (Peter Michael Dills / Getty Images)

A look from the Narciso Rodriguez collection. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press)

A look form the Chado Ralph Rucci collection. (Stephen Chernin / Associated Press)

A look from the Michael Kors collection. (Emmanuel Dunand / AFP / Getty Images)

There were digital swimming pool prints at Michael Kors, blood dripping florals at Prabal Gurung, aquatic fish, wave and bird prints at Monique Lhuillier, Southwestern landscape prints at Rozae Nichols’ Clover Canyon collection. Pictured is the bird print from Monique Lhuillier. (Diane Bondareff / Associated Press)

Nobody did it better than Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, who built on the foundation of their experiment last season with a boxy, oversized silhouette, playing with fragments of images, colors and textures that flew by like so many pixels in our visually-overloaded world. They took casual classics including denim vests, T-shirts and sleeveless dresses and reworked them using colorful patchworks of python and iguana. (Peter Michael Dills / Getty Images)

Another look by Proenza Schouler. (Stephen Chernin / Associated Press)

A look from Monique Lhuillier. (Diane Bondareff / Associated Press)

What better footwear to go with spring’s graphic inspiration than knee- or thigh-high, cage leather gladiator sandals, as seen at Alexander Wang, Altuzarra, Victoria Beckham, Proenza Schouler and Skaist Taylor? Start working those calves now. PIctured is a shoe by Altuzarra. (Jason DeCrow / Associated Press)

A look by Victoria Beckham . (Peter Michael Dills / Getty Images)

A look from Alexander Wang. (Fernanda Calfat / Getty Images)