Nora Milch, W's Associate Accessories Editor, showcases the top ten accessory trends from the Spring/ Summer 2012 collections in New York.

#1: WHITE
From left: Alexander Wang shoes; Narciso Rodriguez shoes

White shoes were a runway staple this season—best done at Alexander Wang and Narciso Rodriguez.

#2: GEOMETRIC PRINTS
Top: Derek Lam bag. Bottom, from left: Phillip Lim bag; Diane von Furstenberg bag

Bold, geometric prints on oversized clutches and totes.

#3: FLORALS
Top, from left: Altuzarra shoes; DKNY shoes. Bottom: Tory Burch bag.

A floral print shoe or bag is a great spring statement.

#4: TRIBAL
Top, from left: Donna Karan shoe; Donna Karan bag. Bottom, from left: Michael Kors backpack; Michael Kors necklace.

Donna Karan and Michael Kors focused on tribal accessories.

#5: PASTELS
Top: Phillip Lim shoes. Bottom, from left: Reed Krakoff shoes; Oscar shoes.

The new neutral—a pastel shoe.

#6: YELLOW
Top, from left: Marc Jacobs bag; Derek Lam bag. Bottom, from left: Carolina Herrera bag; Reed Krakoff bag

Eye-popping yellow bags make a statement.

#7: MIXED TEXTURES
From left: Proenza Schouler bag; Marc Jacobs shoes.

Metallics mixed with wooden details.

#8: BOHEMIAN
From left: Thakoon shoes; Ralph Lauren bag

Accessories with hippie accents like fringe and gold palettes.

#9: CAT EYE SUNGLASSES
Top: Proenza Schouler sunglasses. Bottom, from left: Jason Wu sunglasses; Prism sunglasses

Classic fifties cat-eye sunnies still look fresh.

#10: GINGHAM
From left: Marc Jacobs bag; Marc Jacobs shoe

Marc Jacobs used green and yellow gingham on boxy bags and ladylike pumps—perfect garden party accessories.

Photos: Fairchild Archive

I try to hold back on buying new shoes until I arrive in Europe for the collections each season, but as New York Fashion Week rolls around I often find it impossible to wait. This year, I’m going for a mix of serious drama (Miu Miu’s glitter and suede booties) and sensible (Jimmy Choo slippers). Take my advice and don’t wait too long to make your fall purchases—the Miu Miu sparklers are almost sold out.

Alexander Wang’s fox fur and leather shoe, $895, at Alexander Wang, New York.

Gianvito Rossi for Altuzarra’s leather bootie, $1,190, Barneys New York.

Jimmy Choo’s paisley loafer, $495, jimmychoo.com.

Valentino Garavani’s python boots, $2395, Valentino, New York, 212.772.6969.

Prada’s python shoes, $950, at select Prada stores, prada.com.

Miu Miu’s glitter and suede booties, $890, at select Miu Miu stores, miumiu.com

Burberry’s leather lace up wedges, $850, burberry.com.

Chanel’s leather boots, at select Chanel stores, 800.550.0005.

Inspired by the August fashion story “Sharp Suiters”, featuring Karen Elson and styled by Edward Enninful, W’s Karla Martinez picks a stackable bunch of bangles to pair with a smart jacket this fall.

Jamie Wolf's 18kt Yellow Gold 2 Row Marquis Leaf Bangle with White Moonstone, $9500; 18kt Yellow Gold 2 Row Marquis Leaf Bangle with White Topaz, $9500, all available by special order at Neapolitan, 847.441.7784.

Clockwise: Jamie Wolf's 18kt Yellow Gold Marquis Leaf Bangle, $9800; 18kt Yellow Gold Wide Bangle, $7500; and 18kt Yellow Gold Bangle with Cognac Diamonds, $7900, all available by special order at Neapolitan, 847.441.7784.

Irene Neuwirth's assorted 18kt Gold Bangles, $4,180- $14,520, available at Ylang23.com

Irene Neuwirth's assorted 18kt Assorted Gold Bangles, $4,180-$20,540, available at Ylang23.com

Deborah Pagani's 18kt yellow and white gold and diamond bangles, $2,200 - $12,000, Deborah Pagani, New York, 212.247.0375.

Karen Elson: Emma Summerton

Perspex brogue in cream pony skin

25-year-old Simone Rocha is quickly establishing herself as one of London’s rising fashion stars. Simone’s second runway collection, shown as part of Fashion East during London Fashion Week in February, included her first foray into footwear—a collection of Perspex, pony skin and leather brogues—available as flats with a slick red base or in a more extreme silhouette, propped up on a sharp clear wedge. “I love the tradition and masculinity of a classic brogue, but elevating this into a high heel makes it fresh,” explains Rocha.

These new-age brogues will be available in black leather and cream pony skin at OAK from August 4th. The designer is also working on her first TopShop capsule collection, which will be sold in stores and online come September.
Flat brogue with red Perspex heel

Reminiscent of prima ballerinas and the bejeweled wives of Henry VIII, Nina Ricci designer Peter Copping’s richly adorned glass beaded headband is fit for the magpie in everyone (at Esti’s, Brooklyn; $595).

Photo by Stuart Tyson

Since 2009, Florsheim by Duckie Brown—a marriage between the classic footwear company and the hip men’s wear line—has been shodding men in dapper shoes with a downtown twist. This fall the brand is finally seeing to envious girls, too. The debut of the women’s collection includes a cranberry cordovan brogue and a dark gray and gold-accented jazz-worthy saddle shoe (florsheimbyduckiebrown.com; $300 to $600).

Illustration by Bella Foster

Shot by Karl Lagerfeld and filled with assorted style icons in striking headwear, the look books of French milliner Maison Michel have become as eagerly anticipated in certain circles as a September issue. This season’s features Russian beauty Sasha Pivovarova (above), actress Clémence Poésy, and musician Anna Calvi sporting fur earmuffs, spiked hairpins, and a polkadot kitten-ear cap, all designed by artistic director Laetitia Crahay, who doubles as Chanel’s head of jewelry and accessories. As a bonus, Pivovarova, a budding artist, has drawn on three of the images, which will be included in the book as posters.

Click here to read "Five Minutes with Laetitia Crahay"

Photo courtesy of Maison Michel

From princesses to pop stars, English milliner Piers Atkinson is making hats happen. Based in his East London home-cum-studio, every nook and cranny of which is filled with feathers, straw berets, veils, crystals and tulle, Atkinson has been crafting hats since before he can remember. His mother, who is also a successful milliner, used to make costume hats for the English National Opera on their kitchen table. Atkinson would sit at her feet and fashion miniature versions of the theatric toppers from discarded scraps and trimmings.

Piers Atkinson

The milliner has come a long way since playing on his mum’s floor. After studying fine art, assisting conceptual artist Andrew Logan and being taken under the wing of London’s quirky, pink-haired design icon, Zandra Rhodes, Atkinson launched his eponymous line of hats in 2008. In 2009, his hats were featured in the V&A’s "Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones" (the exhibition is traveling to New York and will be on view at Bards Graduate school from September 14th through April 15th). The hyper-real red cherry hat from his "Sex on the Brain" collection which, available this August at Patricia Fields, was worn by Rihanna in her "S&M" video, helped to put his quaint studio on the map. And since, Atkinson has gone on to create hats out of the most unexpected materials—hair rollers, dismembered Barbie Dolls and neon lights—for the likes of Kelis, Princess Beatrice, Anna Dello Russo and, Lady Gaga.

How would you describe your aesthetic?
Witty. There’s a lot of humor in what we’re doing. I think if you’re going to put a hat on your head, you either want to keep the rain off or feel fabulous. And a hat is a show off garment. It’s like a fabulous pair of high heels or something.

How did those famed cherries come about?
I did a collection called “Sex on the Brain,” because I love that phrase. My mum told me that, in the Victorian period, men would have beautiful paintings of nudes on the silk linings of their hats. And that’s sex on the brain, literally. So I mixed that idea with 80's Athena posters of hummingbirds drinking off glossy lips and girls licking chocolate-dipped cherries and strawberries. That’s where all the fruit pieces came from. And then we just did those incredible cherries. They were meant to be the silly showpiece that would be good for press and no one would buy. But I’ve sold hundreds of them! It changed my opinion of how fabulous women are.

What do your hats say about the women who wear them?
I think very importantly it says that they’re glamorous. But more importantly, it shows that they’re intelligent. These hats are not cute, look-at-me-things. They’re real statements—witty, confident pieces. And the girls who wear them are intelligent, strong-minded women.

Anna Dello Russo in a headpiece from the "Sex on the Brain" collection.

Why do you think hats are making a comeback?
There’s a lot more dress up in pop culture. You’ve got Lady Gaga, she’s the most outrageous, but then you’ve got great people like Rihanna and Kelis who are wearing all these amazing costumes and hats. And people are following that. Then in fashion too, that 90's little black dress is not what you’re going to see Anna Dello Russo in. These people are celebrating and enjoying showing off. And they’re enjoying promoting that more extreme vision of the designer. And it’s a known quantity that people show off more during a recession, so skirts might get longer and prints get brighter and why not cheer up with a cherry hat?

What can we expect to see from you next season?
Fall was all navy and neon lights. That collection was about the nightclubs and people making their fantasies come to life at night because the real world’s a bit boring. I wanted to continue that for spring, and I’m moving that concept into the theatre. It’s a bit more fun. Since last season was dark, I want to put every color into this collection. I’ve been looking at a lot of musicals, and that evolved into Gone with the Wind and a bit of Street Car Named Desire. It’s definitely going to be a little New Orleans, with some voodoo and parrot feathers and straw boaters and things like that... and Zandra Rhodes is giving us one of her amazing prints.

Lada Gaga in a Piers Atkinson mask. Hat by Charlie le Mindu.

What’s it like designing hats for Gaga? And Princesses Beatrice and Eugine?
Well you get scared, don’t you? Lady Gaga is such an extraordinary creature, and I always wonder what she’s going to be next week… because she’s a candy cute girl one day and then a biker chick the next and then some extraordinary art concept creature the next. So you have to think, does she want a baseball cap or a leather mask? But the piece she wore most was with the black, floral mask inspired by Schiaparelli.

Do you think that English women understand something about eccentricity that American women don’t?
Well, yes. I think there’s an eccentric thing in the UK. But you’ve got a lot of amazing hat wearers in America. Michelle Harper is a great supporter as is Susanne Bartsch. These are incredibly, mind-blowingly glamorous women who look like a million dollars. So I think Americans wear hats brilliantly.

Michelle Harper wears Piers Atkinson.

What’s next for you?
Meeting some great labels to discuss doing hats for fashion week. And someone mentioned Michelle Obama, so maybe I should try to do a hat for her. She’s so great in all those bright colors. So maybe I should try and sort out a meeting with her. And then, I’d love to make something for the Duchess of Cambridge, of course.

What’s the key to pulling off one of your toppers?
Hold your head up high and just march forward. If the rest of the world doesn’t get it then, you know, screw them!

Photos: Piers: Amy Gwatkins. All others: Getty Images

To fete the latest collaboration between MOSCOT and Johan Lindeberg’s BLK DNM, a cool crowd turned out last night at the BLK DNM temporary store on Lafayette Street to try out the three new styles, simply titled SUNGLASS 1, 2, and 3. As if a group that included the likes of Twin Shadow, Andre Saraiva, and Dree Hemingway needed an excuse to wear their sunglasses at night.

Johan Lindberg and Twin Shadow

Dree Hemingway

Sunglasses, $295 each

Photos: Elizabeth Lippman

Ippolita is known for her delicate, gemstone-studded baubles, but with her new collection, Wicked, the jewelry designer reveals her dark side. The pieces pair a black sterling silver alloy with blue topaz and rock crystal. “I felt like doing something overtly edgy,” explains Ippolita, who cut the stones with wide facets on top and tiny ones on the underside for a tough yet feminine feel that prompted her team to dub the line Wicked. “I guess compared to everything else I’ve done, it is,” she says (at Neiman Marcus; $295 to $2,500).