New York Look

Color-blocked with an A-line skirt at Louis Vuitton, asymmetrical over a dress at Chanel, or virtually nonexistent at Jil Sander, the shrunken version of the classic tailored piece became more than an outfit’s starting point.

Amid all the floating, diaphanous dresses at the spring collections were harbingers of a tougher silhouette to come, in the form of squared-off shoulders at Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and elsewhere.

That definitive bohemian Talitha Getty is a regular on designer inspiration boards. This season, fringe vests, flowing skirts, and mixed patterns at Balmain, Etro, and other houses signaled her ubiquity.

The only question each season is how the designers will use their two favorite noncolors. Rue du Mail made them artsy, with a graphic print, and Yves Saint Laurent went long and elegant. Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel mixed sailor references into his eveningwear and topped it with a deconstructed tailcoat.

Like nearly everything else on the runways, trousers were loose and flowing, often cropped to mid-calf. Giorgio Armani made his in slinky gray and tied them at the knee for a gypsy feel, while Vera Wang cut hers in duchesse satin for the slinkiest cargo shorts imaginable.