New York fashion shows carry on, unruffled by deep snow

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Designers took fashion traveling through time in New York on Saturday, displaying looks showcasing the past and future to crowds undeterred by deep snow that covered the city.

Ruffian, Lacoste and Porsche Design were three of the lines showing their fall and winter 2013 collections at New York Fashion Week, which brings more than 200,000 models, design experts and journalists to the city for the semi-annual extravaganza.

Attendance at Fashion Week, where many in the audience don stylish and often outlandish looks for the occasion, appeared little touched by the storm, which left a foot of snow overnight.

'I don't see it affecting it, except the outfits have gotten more interesting,' said Adam Paige, a spokesman for Mercedes-Benz, which sponsors Fashion Week shows staged at New York's Lincoln Center.

'People have had to stretch their creativity,' Paige said.

Ruffian kicked off with clothes that the designers Brian Wolk and Claude Morais said were inspired by images of Sherlock Holmes, saloons, opium dens and the debauchery of New York's Bowery, brought to life with rich silks, velvets and embroidery.

Ruffian showed chalk-striped blazers, tweed jackets and high-necked blouses, perked up with corsets and floral flounces. Eye-catching pieces were made of shimmering metallic boucle.

In keeping with the theme, many models wore deerstalker hats made familiar by Holmes, the fictional 19th century London detective

Looking into an age of futuristic exploration, Lacoste showed sweaters, ponchos, blouses and dresses in ethereal shades of gray, some with abstract prints of topographical maps.

Silhouettes featured exaggeratedly rounded, dropped shoulders.

Color appeared at Lacoste in geometric blocked dresses of black, white, green and blue. Bits of orange peeked out in turtle necks and shirt collars in a collection that otherwise stayed close to gray, white, green and black.

Jet black ruled at the Porsche Design show, which offered sporty jackets, trousers and skirts of leather. A slight hint of color was a rich oxblood that Porsche dubbed Windsor wine.

Fashion Week continues through Thursday with shows by Michael Kors, Tracy Reese, Ralph Lauren and others.

(Additional reporting by Marguerita Choy; Editing by Peter Cooney)