NEW YORK -- As Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week heads into its fourth day today, American womenswear designers are showing no signs of retreating from the luxury and glamour that have taken over fashion in recent years.

Next fall and winter will see silhouettes both streamline sleek and architecturally edgy, a plethora of voluminous knits, more color-blocking and busy prints, dashes of shock colors such as chartreuse and fuchsia, an emphasis on dramatic headwear and the continuation of design inspiration from the '40s and '70s.

Autumn and winter typically introduce a more subdued palette, but designers are giving daring and exciting twists to browns, blacks, grays and to plaids, houndstooth and other patterns in suits and dresses. Precise tailoring and novel embellishment of luxurious fabrics has resulted in pieces that look fresh, modern, elegant and timeless.

In sum, they are looks that will give women a reason to buy regardless of how unpredictable the economy might be.

Here's a look at select shows:

A brand with a great reputation for premium denim surprised a packed audience Saturday evening by sending out a nearly denim-free series of handsome suits for women and men and a succession of pretty dresses.

Striding to the rock and classical music of a live orchestra, models showed hip looks, from smart gray pinstripe blazers and pants for him to black turtlenecks, trenches and fitted gloves for her. It's nice to see the brand nudging its clients on to a more sophisticated maturity.

He combined chunky cashmere knits beautifully with floaty print dresses, which could have been a crash rather than the lovely merger that resulted. Innovative prints and oddball throwback colors can be a mess when used liberally, but there was a charm to Coviello's interpretations. He topped off many looks with feathered hats and caps, from a '40s-inspired golden brushstroke print silk chiffon bias-cut dress with ruffly cap sleeves to a flecked wool coat the color of tree bark worn with striped wool pants the shade of smoke.

Hannant has designed pretty clothes for years, but has never quite reached the level of popularity where one becomes a regular on the red carpet. That may change with his latest collection. Beyond a number of suits and ruffled blouses that would work well at the office and into evening hours, his fall collection was replete with splendid ensembles for cocktail and formal events. Among the most memorable looks were a chartreuse crepe satin gown, an aubergine satin draped cocktail dress and two wool boucle cocoon coats, one in black with embroidery and cock feathers. He finished the show with a jaw-dropping ivory and silver laserprint taffeta pouf gown.

Don't get it twisted. Kimora Lee Simons will never stop designing for her first love, the 'round-the-way girls, the neighborhood hotties with the curvy bodies. So it was no surprise that her fall line would be heavy on slinky mini skirts and dresses, embellished denim booty shorts, towering heels and blinged-up jewelry and bags. There were a few unexpected treats such as flapper-style mini skirts, a cropped houndstooth jacket with black patent leather detailing and hot little cocktail dresses in chartreuse, purple and hot yellow. Looks for men were as edgy but wearable, from fitted suits under fur-trimmed parkas to a gorgeously textured black velvet tuxedo jacket.