America's best fashion: Designers offer sneak peek at NY fashion week

Sketch courtesy of Christian Siriano

Designer sketches fall 2014 Christian Siriano January 2014

The best of American fashion for fall and next winter debuts at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week beginning Thursday. In advance of fashion's biggest celebration, we asked established designers, as well as promising up-and-comers, to tell us what inspired their collections and offer a sneak peek of what to see on the New York runways and eventually in stores across Texas.

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Designer: Christian Siriano

Inspiration: "Parisian photographer Fernand Fonssagrives and his work with light and shadow on the female body were the first inspiration for my fall/winter 2014 collection. His photographs were high in contrast, graphically powerful, and celebrated the female figure."

Photo courtesy of © Getty Images Sport

Designers' sketches fall 2104 collections Elie Tahari

Designer: Elie Tahari

Inspiration: “Ray of light”

Sketch courtesy of © Monique Lhuillier

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Monique Lhuillier

Designer: Monique Lhuillier

Inspiration: “Fall 2014 is inspired by graphic architectural detail and old world French Parisian couture techniques while also incorporating a dark romantic side.”

Sketch courtesy of Herve Leger

Designers' sketches fall 2014 January 2014 Herve Leger

Designer: Herve Leger by Max Azria

Inspiration: Wild and untamed

Sketch courtesy of © Nicole Miller

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collection Nicole Miller

Designer: Nicole Miller

Inspiration: This season, Miller was inspired by "female warriors, in the sense of powerful women. I used a lot of iconic images from movies and history for detail and fabric inspiration."

Photo courtesy of Cesar Galindo for Czar

Designer's sketches fall 2014 Cesar Galindo for Czar 2

Designer: Cesar Galindo for Czar

Inspiration: Houston native Cesar Galindo's Czar by Cesar Galindo fall/winter 2014 collection is about altered states of style and further mixing social, active and career with ease.

Looks reflect blurred lines of patterns, static weaves, optical graphics, jeweled prints; silhouettes of wide shoulders with fitted hips, box boleros, jackets, body conscious dresses with an underlying look of Asian Kimono influence, Far East modernism with a baroque opulence.

Sketch courtesy of © Bibhu Mohapatra

Deigners' sketches fall 2014 collections Bibhu Mohapatra

Designer: Bibhu Mohapatra

Inspiration: Tibetan terrains

Sketch courtesy of © Carmen Marc Valvo

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Carmen Marc Valvo

Designer: Carmen Marc Valvo

Inspiration: “Minarets, mosaics and armor"

Sketch courtesy of BCBG

Designers' sketches fall 2014 January 2014 BCBG

Designer: BCBG Max Azria

Inspiration: Assertive Design

Sketch courtesy of © Rebecca Taylor

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Rebecca Taylor

Designer: Rebecca Taylor

Inspiration: Fall/winter 2014 references Parisian street artist Philippe Baudelocque and the use of dimensional layering of textures and patterns. The idea of fragile work in an urban environment plays on the rare complexity of unexpected pairings of colors, techniques and fabrics.

Sketch courtesy of Barbara Tfank

Designer sketches fall 2014 collection January 2014 Barbara Tfank

Designer: Barbara Tfank

Inspiration: Ripe, verdant blooms and deep rococo richness, complemented by refinement and restraint.

Sketch courtesy of © Angel Sanchez

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Angel Sanchez

Designer: Angel Sanchez

Inspiration: “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” - Oscar Wilde

Sketch courtesy of Tadashi Shoji

Sketches for fall 2014 collections January 2014 Tadashi Shoji

Designer: Tadashi Shoji

Inspiration: Moorish Palaces by Moonlight

Photo illustration courtesy of © Douglas Hannan

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Douglas Hannan

Designer: Douglas Hannant

Inspiration: Galactic

Sketch courtesy of © Gant

Designers' sketches fall 2014 Gant January 2014

Designer: Gant Rugger

Inspiration: "The collection is influenced by the Japanese take on #menswear, a bit romanticized (as always) but still very true to whom we are, standing steady on our American Sportswear ground always pushing the envelope." — Fifi Hallstensson, head designer

Sketch courtesy of © Son Jung Wan

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Son Jung Wan

Designer: Son Jung Wan

Inspiration: “For fall 2014 I was inspired by the abstract expressionist, Mark Rothko, who articulated colors of emotions.”

Sketch and mood board courtesy of © Raoul

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Raoul mood board HORIZONTAL

Designer: Raoul

Inspiration: “We continued our research into the arts, and for fall winter '14 we became fascinated with the Wiener Werkstatte movement for its geometric and abstract elements which spanned from furniture to jewelry and clothing at the turn of last century. We also looked at John Chamberlain's sculptures, and these inspired us to work with crumpled gold and silver metal ornaments which are a key feature in the collection. These textures in turn made us think of meteoric rock and space, which ultimately defined the celestial elements and prints of the collection.” – designer Odile Benjamin

Sketch courtesy of © Desigual

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Desigual

Designer: Desigual

Inspiration: “Fall 2014 our senses awakened to the city’s overlooked curiosities and magic—and tempt us to fall in love again with the places and things we think we know, but have more to offer than what lives in our imagination.” - designer Manel Jadraque Desigual

Sketch courtesy of © Rachel Roy

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Rachel Roy

Designer: Rachel Roy

Inspiration: Fall 2014 explores nature deconstructed through an infrared lens. Menswear-inspired elements, hand-painted prints combined with geometric lines and a saturated color palette commends the modern woman.

Sketch courtesy of © Rita Vinieris

Designers' sketches fall 2014 Rita Vinieris

Designer: Rita Vinieris

Inspiration: "This season, I am inspired by the magic and mystery of the color spectrum. How energy comes from not on the colors of the spectrum, but the darkness between the colors. That balance of blackness and brightness like a splash of fireworks igniting the night sky or the amazing Aurora Borealis exploding across the heavens."

Designers' sketches fall 2014 collections Dennis Basso

Designer: Dennis Basso

Inspiration: "My inspirations are some of the great American contemporary artists interrupting their extraordinary creativeness into my fall 2014 collection.”