(NEW YORK) St. John
Trays of champagne and wine lined the corridor leading into the St. John presentation last night: Ah, the joys of the freer presentation format! Another treat: the gorgeous pieces on display, like a navy knit cape dress (the designer's personal fave; one of ours, too) and a double-faced cashmere coat with big fox fur cuffs, to a teal liquid satin gown that created an impossibly statuesque effect on an already-towering model. The impeccable collection was whipped up by the line's senior vice president of design, Greg Myler, and offered up sophistication and elegance without feeling dame-esque. 

Billy Reid
"The process itself was my inspiration," Billy Reid told The Daily. "It's the first time we actually designed men's and women's together and we really saw how the women's clothing affected the men's." The women's pieces had an effortlessly cool romanticism, revealed in floor-length gowns. To wit: a long sleeved, rose patterned black chiffon dress, sporting a knee-high slit, say, or a red skirt suit with a longer hemline in the front. The result: Sexy, not severe. Also on the docket: A long white country-style dress with a floor-length coat that'd look just as at home in the South as it would in the British countryside. The distressed brown leather a-line knee length skirt was a standout that found its way into the menswear in motorcycle jacket worn by a long-haired, bearded ginger model that looked right at home on Reid's rustic runway. A navy jacquard print blanketed an evening dress and a pair of pants, also patterning a men's tuxedo jacket. The designer himself was as big of a hit as his clothes: editors dashed backstage en masse to shower praise, with Reid doling out plenty of friendly southern hugs and drawling "thank you's" in return.