DALLAS, Apr 26, 2007/ FW/ --- British-born designer John Richmond is well known for his rock & roll attitude when it comes to his creations. For Fall 2007, he shifted gear and combined goth and luxe that is surprisingly very wearable and highly covetable.

It is not just fashion disciplines that were merged. Richmond also played with texture and used diverse fabrics from nylon to fur to leather that he articulately united in one collection.

Down filled ski-jackets that can also pass for streetwear was quilted and given an Elizabethan collar. Pencil cut leather skirt and tight fitting leather pants worked well as the matching pair, giving it a biker chic quality.

Fur also made an appearance as coats with shawl collars or as trimmings in a double-breasted trench that could easily be seen being worn by Fifth Avenue denizens.

Still, it was the dresses that are to die for. Done in black and white in such disparate fabrics as chiffon or leather, circles and square were laser cut into it, becoming its adornment.

Richmond’s little black dresses cannot be ignored either. Prim and proper with their high collars and long sleeves, the hemline just reaching the middle of the thighs, it’s perfect for any and all occasions.

Leather bra and boy shorts were layered over by a black chiffon tunic then a silk tuxedo jacket was added. It’s goth and luxe at the same time, and this look totally defined the collection.

Trousers came in several forms – skintight, palazzo and bootleg. Paired with the trench coats and outer coats with soft-rounded shoulders, the atmosphere of opulence is sustained.

Though this might be reaching, but this collection is perhaps John Richmond’s most commercially viable yet.

John Richmond

John Richmond

John Richmond

John Richmond