[Style.com]

I think it would be fair to say that this last badge of cruise collections has been the best one since the so-called midseason became a fashionable thing for brands to do. As I mentioned before, I was particularly impressed with Erdem's simple concept and exquisite cuts and details and I rather enjoyed Chanel even though it was more of the same.

Even though there are still some more to come I will risk saying that we have seen the three best collections already.

The first is The Row. Being such a young brand they are already venturing into Cruise and doing it so well! A big part of the line seemed to focus around breton stripes, which is a pretty simple but genius idea. I would assume the Olsens picked breton stripes because they signify both nautical attire and Gabrielle Chanel and there is no better combination for a perfect Cruise look.

Acne has did PreFall for the first time last year and now joins the Cruise club too. I was pleasantly surprised with their collection concept, which spoke resort but was also quite urban. I especially loved the way dresses, skirts and camisoles were layered over or under each other.

By this, his third collection for Theory, Olivier Theyskens has managed to make of it a cult brand. I was happy to see a lot more colour and then usual black and white the designer usually delivers on the runway. My favourites were the various blazers, interestingly cut in different materials and paired up with sheer silk or blocky maxi skirts. I was also in awe of the shoes, huge wedges topped by metallic colours and pointy ends.

Sheer pleasure

I don't know about you but I have missed the Olsens during fashion month! They didn't use to go along with the fair but at least they showed up at some New York shows and there was always the big Chanel appearance. But we're getting none of that lately, which is odd because they had to be in Paris during fashion week to show their The Row collection. In any case, we will always have the classic paparazzi shops of them going shopping and popping into Starbucks. The latest of these has been Ashley's visit to Céline. The chicer part of the Olsens stepped out in a cropped mega fluffy fur coat which she paired up with a black sheer maxi skirt and leather leggings showing she's so fashion forward she already knew these skirts would make a hit for SS11.

Ash's take on the sheer maxi seems to be a practical way of mixing together different season's trends. SS11 offers many different options within two main categories: rock & roll and romantic. Houses like Givenchy took sheer to a new level by printing it with leopard while others like Rag & Bone and Alberta Ferreti used a soft palette or florals for a kind of urban boho look.
I also really liked the mixture of textures in Ashley's outfit and the good combination of the black, the blond fur and the gold of the jewellery. I had a look on Net-a-Porter to see which fur (fake and real) they're offering this season and cropped is definitely the way to go wether you are a fan of Fendi's luxury or Burberry's über-fluffy pieces.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Celebrity-Gossip.net, Style.com, Net-a-porter.com]