The Canadian designer, Rad Hourani, is being pegged as a designer to watch. To drive the point home, we can't count the number of young New Yorkers who have referenced him either on their internet pages or in casual conversation. The combination of press hype and good 'ol fashioned street cred means that this designer will surely make it into the canon come 2009. As far as the street cred goes, there are two explanations for his popularity. One, that young people trust designers who avoid color and print. That is, if it looks dark and scary, it must be posh. And two, if you look at the collection, the separates are poised for styling--something that often perks up a fashionista on a budget. Whether it's a layer-worthy tunic, a cropped leather jacket, or pair of silk skinny trousers, Rad Hourani has promised style even to those who can only manage to get their hands on one piece from the collection. The designer has also branded himself as align with the artist community by producing video and photo editorial that promises the brand has more important statements to make than collaborating with Target or H&M (a surefire bet that Hourani will be asked to do so, unless the plates shift in the next few years). Check out this Rad Hourani video and gallery of the Fall 08 collection below.

As the first fashion week collection since Helmut Lang left the brand, Spring 08 followed his genius full suit. The designers for Helmut Lang, Michael and Nicole Colovos, had quite a bit of responsibility resting on their shoulders. If you remember, Lang left the brand in 2005 inspiring Prada to sell them off to Link Theory Holdings (who owns Theory, Rosner, and PLS+T; three mass market brands with a significantly lower price point), shortly thereafter. The brand, in transition, was then absent through three seasons, kept Spring and Fall 07 rather quiet, and remerged for Spring 08 during Fashion Week. The designers, Michael and Nicole Colovos, founded Habitual jeans before taking lead with the quickly changing brand, and the general consensus is that they've done right with their first collection out of the official gates. The collection showed off the signature Helmut Lang palate of blacks and whites, as well as the expected tailored separates, and modern-bondage twists and turns. Although Helmut Lang may have lost it's young New York fallowing (these minds have such little devotion anyway) we predict, at least in New York, they'll garner support from Rad Hourani/Modernist scene, taking those young, avant garde professionals by storm once again.