Loose Silhouettes

Last season, the body-hugging dresses and super-slim pencil skirts had us running to the gym in a panic. Now we can enjoy dessert again. Designers such as Zac Posen, Narciso Rodriguez, Calvin Klein, and Marc Jacobs loosened up their silhouettes and sent out fluid, generous gowns with empire waists and A-line skirts in silk and chiffon.

Long Skirts

Flared skirts and pouf skirts have overtaken the mini. Skirts with panels or accented seams that hug the body popped up all week. And those poufs come in every shape imaginable: big and round at Oscar de la Renta to slim and sexy at Donna Karan.

Short Shorts, Short Pants

Miniskirts may be over, but designers like Anna Sui, Marc Jacobs, and Narciso Rodriguez weren’t ready to let go of leggy looks yet and showed short shorts ranging from denim cut-offs to hot pants to cropped bermudas. The pant for Spring 2005 ends not at the knee and not below the ankle, but somewhere in between, as seen at the shows of Miguel Adrover, Peter Som, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, and Sebastian Pons.

Layered Fabrics

You won’t have to look for the two-ply dress next year. Several designers showed dresses in a strong fabric with overlays of tulle or lace. Yigal Azrouel’s white portrait-neckline dress with a black silk tulle over the top made the piece fascinating. Lela Rose used delicate layers of lace to add depth to her dresses. At Carlos Miele, lace overlays gave pink gowns a greater texture and a kinetic look.

Color Palette

White was everywhere, in the form of suits, dresses, skirts, and pants, as seen in practically every collection, from Kenneth Cole to Ralph Lauren to Ellen Tracy. Donna Karan used a wide variety of metallic gray-tones, both matte and shimmery. Cool electric-blue and turquoise hues showed up at Narciso Rodriguez and Calvin Klein. Bright orange had its moment at Carolina Herrera, Cynthia Steffe, Tommy Hilfiger, J Mendel, and Calvin Klein.