If the recent New York Fashion Week proved one thing, it was that neither snow nor rain could stay the fashion set from their appointed rounds. During a week that found editors battling the elements on multiple occasions, designers responded with a strong outerwear emphasis that felt absolutely appropriate, as demonstrated by The Last Magazine fashion director Alastair McKimm’s top ten looks. Alexander Wang, for one, worked cozy fur, mohair, and astrakhan into his boxing inspiration, finishing off his cool looks with heels that appeared to be wrapped in legwarmers. Reed Krakoff sent out swinging coats and boxy jackets as the showpieces of a collection with a sleekly modernist vision. Over at The Row, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen played with layering and proportions for an easy, slouchy vibe. Louise Goldin opted for Op Art prints, working dizzying visual illusions into her provocative examination of form and texture. The intricate graphics Michael and Nicole Colovos presented at Helmut Lang had an art-history feel as well, referencing the spirit of Cubism in a way that looked very contemporary. Joseph Altuzarra’s collection bristled with an unfamiliar toughness, proving he is as in touch with his scaled-back, edgy dark side as he is with the intricate detailing that has always been his strength. In a season that went all-in on minimalism, Francisco Costa proved why Calvin Klein will always offer one of the most persuasive arguments for that æsthetic, with a pared-down collection of sharp-shouldered jackets and other shapely pieces finished off with emphatic belt buckles. There was a new purity to Jack McCullough and Lázaro Hernández’s show for Proenza Schouler as well, with stark monochromatic looks in couture shapes with a mature sensibility. Black-and-white was half of the story at Narciso Rodriguez too, where the elegant coats and slip dresses came either in shades of gray or, just as winningly, in punchy electric hues. Closing out the week, Marc Jacobs made the question of color an almost existential one, showing his sexy, glimmering, comfortable pieces twice, first in sepia and then in all the pigments of the rainbow.