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Austrians Wally Salner and Johannes Schweiger are the duo behind Fabrics Interseason. The label puts particular emphasis in textiles and the creative effects possible when various fabrics are layered and combined. The Spring 2009 collection uses a rather subdued palette, focusing on texture and subtle pattern.

The modern, grungy clothing of New York wunderkind Alexander Wang are tailor made to be layered with various slouchy tees and tanks. That is the premise behind T by Alexander Wang, new for spring 2009. The line of tees, basic dresses and tanks feature lowered arm holes, elongated silhouettes and translucent thin cottons giving the look and shape of a well-worn wardrobe favorite.

Available at Oak

Take one part granny-style floral prints, one part washed out denim, add in some slouchy silhouettes and comfortable cuts and you have the perfect Swedish summer a la Permanent Vacation. We liked their dark plaids and chocolate brown separates from last season, but leave it to a label name Permanent Vacation to know exactly what we'd want to wear during a long, lazy summer.

Last season Burfitt took us to an aging carnival. This season we're going to port in the 1950's. Love the speckled prints!

Rochambeau is the Egyptian name of the rock-paper-scissors game. It's also now the name of the latest promising menswear label to come out of New York. Creative director Michael Venker graduated Parsons in 2007 and was the recipient of the prestigious Golden Thimble award. It was at Parsons' senior thesis show that Venker met partners Joshua Cooper and Laurence Chandler and so Rochambeau was born.

A study between the push and pull of minimal modernism and the intricate detailing of classic menswear, it's no surprise that the Spring 2009 collection was inspired by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. Kuma weaves intricate patterns into his consummately modern structures. Similarly, the details in the Rochambeau collection are an essential but not overwhelming part of what is a thoroughly modern and primarily minimal take on menswear.

Rochambeau's Fall 2009 collection will be available at Oak.

Californian Lina Rennell's Spring 2009 collection is called "Big Sur Meets Helsinki." Big Sur, a magical place where ocean dramatically collides with forested cliffs is translated into hand-printed textiles reminiscent of Finland's Marimekko. We're thinking of the line as Mociun West.

Available at Totokaelo and Beklina

New for Spring 2009 is Brass, an effort by London based designer Zoe Smith. Smith received her Masters from Central St. Martins and worked with Boudicca and Peter Jensen. The debut Spring 2009 collection focuses on geometric shapes, but there is something unmistakably British about the textile and styling choices.

Though the website is showing only a preview of the Spring 2009, Mieke from Stephan Schneider was kind enough to send us some more shots from the collection, including the first looks we've seen from the women's line. As ever, the Schneider spring collection puts remarkable textiles together with a light, almost weightless touch.

Stephan Schneider's Spring 2009 collection will be available at B Store, South Willard, Opening Ceremony, Project No. 8 and Tres Bien amongst other places.

Finn brother and sister team Tuomas and Anna Laitinen started their namesake clothing label Laitinen in 2006. Tuomas graduated from Central St. Martins in 2006. Anna has a fine arts background. They won a special mention at the jury prize of the 2006 edition of the Hyeres festival. After the strong support of jury member Ann Demeulemeester they officially launched their label for Fall 2007.

For Spring 2009, Complex Geometries further refines its ideas on multi-faceted silhouettes and complicated, almost mathematical draping.

Already, Ute Ploier's Spring 2009 collection was one of our favorites for the new season. And we were just going off a preview provided on Ploier's site. The site has now been expanded to show the whole collection and the inspiration and thought behind it and we're now even more impressed by it.

The collection is named "Blueprint" and plays with the many transforms, operations and permutations apparent and implied in a single blueprint. Think about it. What do you see in a blueprint? Inversions and enlargements, gradations and duplicates. For Spring 2009, Ploier has identified all these elements and quite cleverly translated them to clothing. Here are a few of our favorites.

Enlarge:

Invert:

Copy&Paste:

Reverse:

More at Ute Ploier's website.

Pepper & Pistol's Spring/Summer 2009 collection, entitled Babylon, is a beachy collection even the most Downtown New Yorker could love.

In what is becoming something of a calling card for her young brand, Samantha Pleet debuted her Spring 2009 collection "Season of Wonders" on Tuesday night with a video presentation. The eerie, disorienting video directed by Tom Hines and set-designed by Pleet's husband Patrick Pleet, does well to portray the mood and movement Pleet's latest collection. For Spring 2009, Pleet looks again to history for inspiration. But this time it's more recent history. Clear references to the 1950s pin-up styles complete with voluminous hair-dos and busty tops, are complemented by a New York hipster vibe and Pleet's trademark historical/costume-y embellishments. Wonderous indeed.

Photographer: Tom Hines

A preview of Stephan Schneider's Spring 2009 collection is now up on his site. We'd liken the collection to a breath of fresh air.

For all the coverage of the Spring 2009 lines debuting in Milan and Paris, we rather liked the looks coming down the runway of Gaspard Yurkievich. The references in shape and embellishment to medieval garb reinforce Yurkievich's image of the modern man--youthful, confident and ready to face the world.

This all makes sense, since in many ways Gaspard Yurkievich represents what a modern independent design house should and could be. Yurkievich designs men's and women's ready-to-wear, bolstered by a strong accessories program. Most will encounter Yurkievich tights, coming in fun, sexy colors and textiles and carried at many boutiques around the world, before they ever see a separate or dress. The Internet? Yurkievich has embraced it. The label's site comes complete with an e-shop, and yes even a blog. They even maintain a Flickr stream with shots from lookbooks, press clippings and the like.