tracy reese_web.jpgAP Fashion Writer

NEW YORK — Fashion insiders talk a lot about seasonless dressing. It’s how people really wear their clothes and it’s how they shop, too. Tracy Reese decided to use her “fall” collection to address the modern lifestyle, saying she wanted “glimpses of summer to shine through fall.”

She bridged the gap on the runway at New York Fashion Week recently with rich toffee and charcoal shades on capes and cocktail dresses, while tossing in the occasional raspberry jumbo-floral T-shirt dress.

In her notes, Reese said she was looking to update romantic silhouettes “creating visions of amber sunsets and autumn botanical gardens.”

Reese hit on one of the big trends to emerge from these previews which has since moved to London, Paris and Milan, Italy. She used a mixture of tonal textures to create interest instead of relying on anything too gimmicky. Sequins and sweaters? No problem. And a leather skirt seems to be one of the must-have items.

Reese called one ivory-colored dress covered in mirrored beads a “mixed media” shift and topped it off with a cream fur coat.

She couldn’t pass on prints entirely, though, since they’re one of her signatures. A black-and-white grid pantsuit with a striped T-shirt was particularly strong.