Courtesy of Roger Vivier

We've seen a strong 20's influence in many SS12 collections. I love how designers have reinvented drop waist dresses and flapper fringed hemlines. You can almost hear the 20's roar again.

This weekend Roger Vivier presented their SS12 collection in Paris, which I was sad to miss. Their people always put together the most beautiful presentation in really stunning venues.

The brand joined in on the 20's trend for next season. They approached it from a different angle –the early era that saw the end of the Art deco movement and the beginning of Cubism started by Picasso and Braque.

The key for the Roger Vivier SS12 styles created by Bruno Frisoli are the geometric leather pieces in different colours sewn together onto a uniform base that make up the shoes and bags. The effect reminded me of the cubist take on the figure of the harlequin that Roger Vivier has often used as a motif –this time in that cubist/art deco way I mentioned.

The 'Prismick bag' and the 'T Bar Sandal' (picture on the right) are two of my favourite pieces. They're fun and contemporary but classic. I can really see them on Blair Waldorf. She's worn some stunning Roger Vivier pieces in the past and these citrusy colours would be perfect for her!

Ralph travels to the Orient

Ralph Lauren is one of those fashion designers, together with Michael Kors and, possibly, Donna Karan, who always follows a straight line in terms of style. Many could argue that his collections are predictable but I like to make a marked difference between that and creating classic styles. Ralph does the latter and he does it really well. Not one, apart from the other aforementioned designers, epitomise the East-coast look as well as him. We have seen more or less strong nods to the far West, horse racing and colonialism in the past but none as evident and formidable as this one. For FW11 Ralph has travelled to the Orient of the 20's. Instead of the usual tweeds and sandy colours we saw mostly black in jacquard, wool, velvet and sequins. The flapper inspiration was mixed with the oriental motifs of necklaces and earrings, which also introduces the intense reds and jade greens that brought most of the colour to the collection. Alongside this, there was a minor art deco influence made evident mostly on belts and brooches.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]