We've long been obsessed with Shelly Steffee's sharply cut, inventive brand of fashion and often pass through her Meatpacking District boutique/showroom/salon to shop, peruse her vintage jewelry collection, and check out the new design talent she's currently supporting. (Right now Steffee is selling Patrik Muff of Nymphenburg's porcelain pendants—of which we purchased the black wing charm on rose gold.)

Since forgoing her usual in-store presentation for spring 2010, Steffee took us through the collection personally. "I knew I wanted to do prints and address something primal by getting back to the basics," she said, "to return to tailoring but mix that structure with draping techniques."

For Steffee back to the basics meant more of what her loyal following love to wear—reversible jackets, tailored riding coats, mesh tanks, and shirt dresses and tops that can be worn multiple ways. The aforementioned spring prints were inspired by a book of fish x-rays, which Steffee digitally collaged to create geometric textures on chiffon and jersey in shades of blue, gray, and white.

In addition to Steffee's always covetable array of blazers, lingerie-style bra tops and perfect tees, two dresses caught our eye during the visit—a black asymmetrical sheath with subtle cut outs at the shoulder and a red, draped-yet-tailored cocktail number with a back slit.

Although Steffee has been doing the thoughtful, multifunctional fashion thing for a long time, it's never seemed quite so relevant and felt quite as urgent. Call us fans.

Since launching his namesake collection with Saks Fifth Avenue in the spring of 2007, Nima Taherzadeh has become known for elegantly detailed cocktail dresses and separates.

When we visited the designer in his showroom shortly after Nima's runway debut during New York Fashion Week, Taherzadeh was preparing for a trunk show tour across the U.S. He told us the spring 2010 collection was very much inspired by the underwater photographs of Howard Schatz—hence the acid-hued prints on a belted mini dress and high-waisted skirt, the fluid zipper detailing on cropped jackets, and a single row of soft ruffles on a satin trench coat. See the complete spring collection below.

Chadwick Bell started designing his namesake collection in 2007 with childhood friend-turned-business partner, Vanessa Webster. The 27-year-old California native has since presented a series of collections praised for their clean, polished sophistication. His most recent spring 2010 line-up consisted of sharply tailored suits, tulle-detailed pencil skirts, and eel skin dresses that stood on just the right side of sexy versus vulgar. We recently visited Bell's New York showroom and fell in love with his ginkgo leaf prints and handmade accessories—braided leather belts and beaded chiffon necklaces. Click the image below to view the complete collection.

Aminaka Wilmont's sculptural leather jackets and 2007 Fashion Fringe Award are what put the brand on the map, and now they're full steam ahead. This Fall 2009 Maki Aminaka Lofvander and Marcus Wilmont worked with "the perception of time" as inspiration, leading them to use colorful graphic prints, transparent fabrics and extra-long beaded accessories. Of course their signature leather pieces were also present and came in the form of strong-shouldered jackets, vests and thigh-high leggings. Check out images from the collection in the gallery below. 

We've been following the sisters behind Lialia since we caught them at the Gen Art Fresh Faces show last season. This time around the duo, who hail from Oscar de la Renta and Phi, showed a collection a little more brooding and gothic than last. They've still got that old movie star thing going for them, however, and hopefully the combination will prove popular with buyers. Check out Lialia's Fall 2009 look book, and our snapshots from the showroom, in the gallery below. 

Last week we checked out Thread Social's Fall 2009 offering and it was full of work and evening-appropriate pieces. Carried by Shopbop and Net-a-Porter, this contemporary clothing brand was created to compliment the bridal line, Thread. Launched in 2006 by Beth Blake (formerly of Chanel and American Vogue) and Melissa Akey (of Barneys and Stila cosmetics) the Thread Social aesthetic pivots on "perfect party dresses and quirky separates". Check out our snapshots from the showroom along with a few key looks from the Fall 2009 collection.  

Last week, we checked out New York designer Catherine Holstein's Fall 2009 collection in the showroom. Holstein lowered her price point this season meaning that there were less ornate details and more bang-for-buck pieces. Most exciting to us was an oversized boyfriend jacket which will retail for around $300. Only time will tell if Holstein will stick with this plan, her Spring 09 offering was one of our favorites from the season but perhaps it makes more sense to sell at that heavenly Topshop price point. Check out our snapshots from the showroom and her Fashion Week presentation in the gallery below. 

Undeniably connected to the season prior but still its own collection, Fall 2009 for Peter Pilotto was about looking closely at nature and the microscopic. This time around the editorial pieces--those completely covered in beading--were actually detachable from the dresses so that customers could buy the bolero, the frock, or both if they wanted. Otherwise, the design duo collaborated with Linda Farrow for sunglasses, Scott Wilson for jewelry, and Jerome C. Rousseau for shoes. Check out a few of our snapshots of the collection along with stills from the runway below. 

Now in their fourth season since graduating from Central St Martins, the twin sis duo behind Felder Felder have nearly perfected that irresistible balance between hard and soft fashion elements. This season there was punk-chic metal embroidery and voluptuous Mongolian lambs wool, there were body-hugging leather pieces and pops of cobalt and tangerine to liven things up. If the archetypal concept of "cool girl" dressing involves a cocktail dress with a little leather jacket thrown over-top, then think of Felder Felder as modern interpreters of that look. In the gallery below, check out our snapshots from the showroom along with runway images from the Felder Felder show in Berlin.