Spring 2007 Fashion Week Report

New York—Fashion designers continued their retreat from bling during New York Fashion Week's Spring 2007 shows, but simple pendants, cuff bracelets and subtler jewels slipped past the velvet ropes.

About half the designers who showed at the tents in New York City's Bryant Park from Sept. 8-15 sent jewelry down their runways. But instead of covering models in head-to-toe baubles, most fashion designers opted to finish an outfit with one or two well-placed jewels.

Clothing itself remained refined, with designers decreeing that dresses and shorts will be the must-have items for next spring. Dresses sashayed down the runways in a multitude of shapes and colors, assuring that the now ubiquitous ladylike trend will last for at least another season. Shorts, in both long and short versions, continued to emerge in both casual and sophisticated ensembles, paired with everything from blousy tops to fitted blazers.

Fashion designers continued to play with volume: Billowing skirts, ultra-wide pants, elevated collars and bell-shaped coats gave runway looks a sense of expansiveness, while the waist-cinching belts—still hot for next season—pulled everything right back in.

As for color, designers dipped liberally into the yellow palette, with every hue from maize to marigold appearing on multiple runways. Metallic materials also remained a favorite as designers played up the shiny, textured materials by pairing them with solid blacks, whites and reds.

While a few designers—notably Nicole Miller—created their own jewelry collections for the spring shows, others collaborated with jewelry designers.

A Brian Reyes model dons a statement-making piece by Fenton Jewelry.

Carmen Marc Valvo worked with Ben-Amun to create bracelets and necklaces for his show, which took inspiration from the drama and proportion of Georgia O'Keefe's famed flower paintings. The minimal jewelry worked with the clothing, which featured oversized, abstract patterns, voluminous pieces with hand-crafted details and a simple palette of midnight black, magnolia white and a wash of rose and gold.

Jewelry designer Coomi supplied intricate, graceful designs in yellow gold for the Gustavo Arango show, accenting a clothing line that included both muted white and beige colors as well as bold reds and navy blues.

Classic fashion designer Oscar de la Renta went with classic