Top Trends Seen at Spring 2012 Fashion Week

Another season of New York Fashion Week has just wrapped up, and with the discarded gift bags and empty champagne flutes comes a new crop of must-have trends.

If you're a fan of prints, next spring and summer is for you! Designers were enamored with pattern for the upcoming season, and just about every color combination and theme was represented in some incarnation -- though botanical subjects ruled.

Diane von Furstenberg is no stranger to print, and this time around she displayed a dizzying array of flowers in everything from oversize Marimekko-inspired blooms to designs that were reminiscent of Wedgewood china. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler chose body-conscious Hawaiian florals, while Rodarte's Kate and Laura Mulleavy reinterpreted Vincent Van Gogh's sunflowers into ladylike silhouettes.

Another upcoming trend is vibrant, in-your-face color.

Designers must have been revisiting their crayon boxes, because shocking swatches of primary hues like tomato red and cobalt blue abounded at Donna Karan's DKNY, as well as on the runways of Milly by Michelle Smith and Tommy Hilfiger. Add in punches of orange (Michael Kors, Derek Lam), yellow (Helmut Lang, Nanette Lepore) and green (Carolina Herrera, Zac Posen), and you have a color cocktail that's a feast for the eyes and a jolt of energy in your closet.

Photo: Getty Images

Stephanie Rygorsky is a fashion editor, stylist and writer based in New York City. She is an editor at Woman's World magazine and has contributed to People, Life & Style, SHAPE and About.com.

Twitter: @ihavenet

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