Marc Jacobs let loose in a flurry of frills and bustles for his Spring show, dismissing the model-off-duty, glam-rock persona fashion has adopted these days and instead called on more refined muses.  He told Nicole Phelps of Style.com that “if last season was a trip back in time to the eighties, this was a trip to the theater, the ballet, the opera.” And from Marc’s lips to our fashion eyes, it was true: after-five dresses à la “The King and I,” porcelain-faced models, Ottoman-era slippers and ballet-style chignons, with a dash of American sportswear (silken sports bras, fanny-packs and jogging tights) in the mix as well. Critics left pleased with our North American l’enfant terrible, refreshed by his devil-may-care ‘tude to last season’s dark aura.

Distressed leathers, twills and plaid patterns ripped to shreds–California girls Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte brought out the textile talent we’ve come to crave: gorgeous knit stitching, prints and a collage of techniques that are always right on the money. The Mulleavy sisters remind us yet again why they received a 2009 CFDA award their knack for damaging cherished fabrics and combining them in spectacular ways. This Spring, the siblings were darkly inspired by the singed California terrain and Rodarte envisioned a fashion phoenix: a woman scorned by her landscape. She pieces together her burned–yet beautiful–clothes and stomps triumphantly (thanks to equally stripped statement shoes by Nicholas Kirkwood) down the runway. Scarlett O’Hara, eat your heart out.

Anna Sui shows are always a refreshing change from the dark and brooding model stomps. The recent CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award winner knows how put the fun back in to fashion with happy smiling models, bold prints and patterns. Ringmaster Sui gave a whimsical circus-inspired collection this Spring. A nod to the flower child’s love of the 1960s Pop-era welcomed a variety of playful dresses in equally dallying flower prints, not to mention several bowl haircuts (many models sported faux blunt cut bangs if they didn’t already have them). Sui’s collection was fanciful and free: evidence of a designer flying high on success–and deservingly so!

#TKTK##