NY Fashion Week runways full of bandage dresses and slashed fabric

NEW YORK - With all its slashed material and bandaged dresses, New York Fashion Week could be mistaken for a haute hospital ward.

The banded look was everywhere - at Herve Leger, of course, where it is the signature item - but also at Carolina Herrera on Monday, Alexander Wang, Lela Rose, Nicole Miller and in Victoria Beckham's new collection.

Everything has been formfitting in the spring collections, and the bandage dress epitomized the look - a softer version of a super-skinny dress.

Slashes and cutouts came along with the bandages, adding a little sex appeal without showing much skin. The look was shown at Derek Lam, Rachel Roy and Zac Posen, among other runways.

The look is formfitting, but surprisingly forgiving - bandage dresses are almost always in a stretchy material that pulls you in. And the cutouts and slashes show some skin, but not so much that it couldn't be office-appropriate when placed on a shoulder or back.

ZAC POSEN

Zac Posen did things differently Monday. He switched from a nighttime blowout show to a tranquil morning one, a big venue to a small one and - most importantly - he presented clothes you might see someone wearing.

Posen had increasingly focused on dramatic, over-the-top clothes. Remember the whole Midwestern storm theme a few seasons back? All great looks if you happen to be an edgy multiplatinum rocker.

His 2010 spring collection was a complete switching of gears, with adorable, see-through, candy-coloured raincoats setting the tone of an upbeat, youthful collection.

Posen hit on the floral trend with a gladiola-print gown with an open back, and a series of finale gowns with sequin flower appliques. He also used the trick of using cutouts to create sexy silhouettes without showing too much skin.

HERVE LEGER

If you follow the Herve Leger brand, you might wonder what else Max and Lubov Azria could do with their signature, skintight banded dress. For spring they moved away from the tough-warrior muse toward an artsy-craftsy - or as they say "homespun" look.

To keep that recognizable Leger silhouette, new designs have to straddle tradition with innovation. The most successful versions for next season were the metallic dresses, the tie-dyes and the braided ones with rows of horizontal fabric loops in place of flat bands.

The sexiest ones were flesh-coloured numbers that gave the illusion of bareness but actually didn't show any skin.

Eyebrows went up when the looks strayed from cocktail dresses: A banded denim jacket doesn't quite have the same effect.

CAROLINA HERRERA

Carolina Herrera showed transporting clothes - to a Latin dance beat - that had exotic rope and raffia details.

There were many textured fabrics, offered in a natural colour palette that ranged from redwood brown to light stone. The occasional use of amber, rose and caramel were made to match the "waning light cast at the end of a summer's day," Herrera said in her notes.

Her overall inspiration was baskets, she explained. That translated well into a strapless gown with a woven bodice and a quartz-coloured dress that looks like a checkerboard of organza. Fully beaded rope-weave print shorts, paired with a subtle floral top, had the effect of snakeskin. She used the same beading on a cotton dress with a big bow in the back.