Country Chic

If you've been on top of recent runway shows, you'd know fashion is all about country this fall. International catwalks showed a pattern in designs that brought the wearer closer-to-nature.

Some of the designs included cozy knits, while others focused on comfortable plaid shirts and dresses, ranging from cuts that looked almost like checked picnic blankets to those that looked like they were stolen from a lumber jack boyfriend. Other designers went for preppier looks that would be suitable for more posh horseback riding excursions, while others leaned more in the direction of old-fashioned European hunters, which is ideal as hunting season is traditionally in the fall.

Textures range from scruffier tweeds to velvets, and the colour palette from earthy neutrals and owl greys to more daring hues that resemble blazing colours of early season autumn leaves.

The gallery features Fall 2008 fashion week highlights from Alexander McQueen, who used models with massively frizzed hair, Badgley Mischka, who showed off a model in a pumpkin orange turtleneck and furry vest and Carolina Herrera who trimmed a fur vest in a highlighter fluorescent fabric. D&G opted for cow-hide prints and dramatically flared denim dressed up with a silk, patterned headscarf and plaid peacoat. Other brands seen in the gallery include Dolce & Gabbana, Dries Van Noten, Karen Walker, Marni and Richard Chai.