Christopher Kane Fall 2013

If Christopher Kane is feeling a new kind of pressure now that he's under the PPR umbrella, his Fall 2013 collection certainly didn't show it. In fact, the broad-shouldered army he sent down the runway looked pretty darn confident — and tough enough to handle any extra expectations the designer's new luxury backing might hold.

Proving he's content to just be himself, the designer mixed plenty of his classic signatures — kilt-inspired closures, metallic floral appliqués — with a bucket-load of new ideas. An opening series of power coats and A-line skirts, for example, featured camouflage in various shades and textures; some came in vivid blue hues on fuzzy fleece wool, others in murky grays decorated with matte satin. Also in the mix were sheer minidresses and coats embroidered with large-scale flower motifs, velvet cutout dresses with oversize knit stitches, and off-the-shoulder satin dresses fringed with rounded feathers. "It's been a great year and I just had so many ideas that I couldn't live without," the designer explained backstage.