REEM ACRA READY-TO-WEAR FALL/ WINTER 2012-13

Reem Acra show began with an impossible proposition: for a collection based on "feminine power." That phrase was Acra's, issued backstage, where she explained that she wanted to convey a sense of power through strong, second-skin silhouettes.

For day, the designer featured strong-shouldered, nipped-waist leather jacket and matching pencil skirt in wine red. Snug, embellished skirt suits in metallic tweed and herringbone hewed close to the body. Another leather jacket had the contained volume of a puffer coat, but it cinched the waist, flared out to a peplum, and flaunted a high, protective collar—for dresses there was a one-shouldered silk crepe gown, taut across the bodice, that opened to a sheer, beaded skirt allowing for plenty of movement.