There’s one week every year in New York City when it’s difficult to tell who is fashion-forward and who is downright crazy. It’s the week when models flood the subway stations dressed in black and armed with Red Bull. It’s the week when it’s acceptable to wear an umbrella as a hat and a garbage bag as a dress. Furthermore, it’s the week when we forget about the present and look forward to the future–the future of fashion, that is. The games have begun; it’s Mercedes-Benz Fall Fashion Week.

I had the privilege of being invited to attend two shows on Saturday, September 6 in the famed Fashion Week tents located in Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park.

Before entering the tents, I roamed around the Plaza, observing show-goers and show-crashers alike. I looked for the trends in fall street-style before getting a glimpse of the industry’s Spring/Summer collections. It was a steamy day, but the ensembles gave a glimmer of insight into what is to come for the approaching season.

If there is a headline for fall fashion, it is this: black is back.

Though simple, this trend is far from boring as worn by New York’s most style-savvy. From structured black bags with alligator print embossing to unstructured jackets in a blend of silk and cotton with leather accents, everywhere I looked I saw a new and refreshing take on the age-old favorite.

In other, brighter news, metallics are making a comeback.

Attendees sported gold and silver-capped brogues and oxfords, reflective aviator sunglasses, as well as fashion’s newest non-sartorial trend: metallic temporary tattoos.

The collections themselves proved very different from the styles seen on the sidelines of the runway.

The first show, Lacoste, was less than thrilling. The main thread of the whole collection seemed to be shapeless, unisex sportswear.

The models donned mostly unexciting prints and colors, football jerseys with collars, as well as the occasional windbreaker tied around the waist. The second show, however, was drastically different.

Japanese designer Lie Sang Bong presented a collection centered around the essence of the butterfly. The bodices of flowing gowns were brilliantly hued mosaic-like pieces, resembling jeweled butterfly wings. Candy-colored and shimmering, this collection was far from the snooze-fest that was the Lacoste exhibition.

It was another successful Fall Fashion Week in New York, and we’ll be dreaming about the Spring/Summer collections until next season.