District L

Dear Santa,

You must admit, this has been a bit of a rough year. Between the East Coast earthquake, “Hurricane” Irene, and two apocalypses, District L proposes that you take all things into consideration and grade on a curve this holiday season. Besides, compared to last year, we haven’t been all that bad.

First and foremost, we developed a little financial responsibility. We didn’t spend ANY rent money on United Nude shoes or A.OK knits this year. Honestly! We always used our credit cards instead.

Furthermore, we only partied on weekdays when it was really, really vital. You can’t deny the importance of Alan Cumming’s fragrance launch, anything Anna Dello Russo, and Lois Eastlund’s evening revelries. And how can you expect us to skip an open bar at Highline Stages, an event at the Chelsea Art Museum, or… okay, fine. It's true. We never miss an opportunity to have fun.

But we were taught the virtue of positivity by Lela Rose and the importance of a full eight hours by Kaelen. And perhaps we even learned how to relax a bit with the help of Nomia, Sergio Davila, and Son Jung Wan.

So, if we were you, we’d check the list three times -- before Mathieu Mirano pours something special into your milk.

Sincerely,

District L

When people tell me to "relax," I tend to have the opposite reaction. It usually starts with your snide smirk and "pump-the-breaks" hand gesture. And it always ends with me spending the next four days contemplating how to kill you and make it look like an accident.

The thing is, my personality is completely incapable of relaxation. Maybe it was the hours of intensive ballet instruction during my formative years or the footwear that always keeps me on my toes. Whatever the case may be, I'm usually wound tighter than a pair of Jeffrey Campbell combats, constantly hovering on the matrix between unrivaled gusto and extreme obstinacy - and I hate when someone suggests that I behave differently.

That being said, relaxation was ever-so-gently implied this season, again and again. This trend of "urban ease," although somewhat of an oxymoron, was communicated in a way that was refreshingly comprehensible and not at all condescending. Soft layers in calm palettes were trimly draped for a casual-but-polished look. The runway soundtracks were comfortably upbeat with songs like "Go Outside" by Cults at the top of the list.

Geometric shapes, cutouts, and varying hemlines offered enough movement and interest to satisfy my restlessness - proof that next season's trends extend beyond provincial complacency.

So...reeee-lax. It's all going to be okay.

Sergio Davila

Nomia

Kaelen

Son Jung Wan

Samantha Pleet

Daryl K.

Post by Amanda LaMela

"Classic style, combined with comfort and modernity."- Sergio Davila, on the inspiration for his Fall 2009 Collection, WWD

Post and Video by Nicolas Seraleyva

When Kelly Cutrone decided to combine Nicholas K, Sergio Davila, and Mara Hoffman, she was well aware who would steal the show.

After watching the first two designers, I was only mildly impressed. Then the lights dimmed, the music changed, and flowing, tiered dresses appeared on the runway in bohemian styles with African-inspired prints. If Mara and Klee had any uncertainty about how the collection would be received, they had a sigh of relief as their first look initiated an admiring applause.

The inspiration?

“Once were princes, now are thieves,” Mara Hoffman tells Women's Wear Daily.

Post by Amanda LaMela