MarketWatch

Bill Blass, Valentino

This month, we’ve been traipsing through the designers’ showrooms in New York to have a gander at pre-fall, the collection that hits stores in May in hopes of tempting sale shoppers away from the warm weather markdowns and into the richer, seemingly less tired frocks and coats that won’t be needed for months and months to come. While the market seems to be loving a dress these days, the men’s wear-inspired looks are the dark horse, running the gamut from the jacket borrowed from your best gay friend (a la Chanel) to Peter Som’s Marlene Dietrich tux for Bill Blass.

Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan

Chanel, Giorgio Armani

Photos: Blass, Robert Mitra; Valentino and Herrera, Firstview; Karan, Courtesy of Donna Karan; Chanel, Courtesy of Chanel; Armani, Courtesy of Giorgio Armani