Designers were intent to have a good time with their collections for spring. Prints erupted into bouquets on the runway. Color appeared everywhere, even in the unexpected: hair extensions, earrings, fingernails. Even the scene on the street seemed far more sincerely lighthearted.

As expected during an election year, political undertones surfaced in presentations by Hood by Air, Opening Ceremony and Veronica Beard, still, the atmosphere remained joyous. If the country is nervous about November, fashion seems to be ready to cheer them up come spring. And although the audience at shows was often intentionally smaller and more intimate, technology opened the steely invitation-only door to new, remote audiences who were delighted to engage in conversations about diversity and inclusivity in the industry.

Here are some of our observations and highlights from spring 2017 in the Big Apple, in bite-sized form.

1. Alexander Wang's fest

Images: InDigital Images

Following his sun-and-surf themed show, Wang revealed his tightly guarded collaboration with Adidas Originals, a collection of black tracksuits and sweatshirts all featuring an inverted logo, available in spring 2017. He and his gang (#WangSquad) then partied amid a McDonalds pop-up, Slurpees and mini-mart treats. Cans of spray paint circulated, inviting guests to decorate salvaged RVs. During the party, the new capsule Adidas collection was sold out of the back of a van and packaged in a garbage bag tied in an Alexander Wang bow. You've got to give Wang his no-frills fun approach fashion, with a side of fries.

2. Opening Ceremony's Pageant of People

For those who've participated in a beauty pageant (you pretty people), Opening Ceremony's spring show might be reminiscent of such a competition. But their Parade of People, as Humberto Leon and Carol Lim called it, was really more akin to the experience at a high school Model United Nations (for you dorks). Hosted by Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen, celebrity comedians like Aubrey Plaza, Whoopi Goldberg, Aidy Bryant and Jessica Williams both modeled and spoke about the political issues dearest to them (refugees, gender equality and police brutality were a few), while inserting humor and banter. Leon and Lim, both children of immigrants, mentioned in their show notes that during this election year, this show was "inspired by the American immigrant experience," and a "space where unconventional beauty-and ideas-are celebrated." Now if only our politicians would take their notes from OC.

3. Altuzarra's sexy pattern clash
At one of the most instagrammed shows, Joseph Altuzarra showed he has no intention of letting up on the sexy dress silhouettes and skirt slits that made his last spring collection popular with modern women. He seemed to almost double down instead. Inspired, he said, by David Lynch's film Wild at Heart, Altuzarra reveled in elevating the bad taste of the movie's two main characters. A python pattern appeared on a denim jacket that also bore embroidered lemons. Animal print belts deliberately contradicted the sweet floral dresses they cinched. Bras coyly peeked out from behind jackets and eventually just became the outfit's central piece. It was a gloriously colorful and flirty production that's sure to be as much as hit at retailers as it was on social media.

4. Jenny Packham's 31 ladies

Although the dresses were indeed lovely, the most interesting part of Packham's spring collection was the woman, or the 31 women, who inspired it. Each dress supposedly had a single famous muse as its source material. Thing is, although those women were listed in the show's notes, they were not associated with any single dress. So that's where the fun in her eveningwear begins. From present-day actresses, like Jennifer Lawrence and Julianne Moore, to musicians like, PJ Harvey and Stevie Nix, to iconic actresses like Catherine Deneuve, Elizabeth Taylor and Bridget Bardot and more, the "who are you wearing?" question got way more interesting.

5. Livestreaming

Alexander McQueen first did it in 2009. This season, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, rag & bone, Proenza Schouler and Marc Jacobs were just some of the labels that offered a livestream of their runways. Allowing fashion fans to tune in from their homes, offices or home offices is one of many steps (including the show-now-shop-now movement) toward increased inclusivity in the industry. The fashion show is a great subject for a live broadcast: it's short and lively and event-based. Rebecca Minkoff and BOSS (pictured) also incorporated 360 virtual reality experiences for their at-home audience. Any more, the front row may no longer offer the best seats at the show.

6. Oversized shirts on the street

Models and editors seemed to agree that an inordinately large shirt was the staple streetwear piece this season. Worn as a dress or a top, bulky button-ups gave casual clothes a certain undone formality. Styles with elongated sleeves, bell cuffs or off-the-shoulder cuts were particularly popular. So too was the pinstriped print, which almost looked like a uniform on the lines of show-goers .

7. Huge earrings

More than door-knockers, the earrings on the runway at Proenza Schouler, Deplozo and Ralph Lauren dangled like wind chimes. These statement baubles certainly can make an outfit. To that end, we saw editors and bloggers on the street upping the weight on their lobes too. Add this to the list of trends already stepping off the runway into real life.

Photo by Kristin Yamada Victoria Beckham Spring 2017

8. Baring bras

DKNY Spring 2017

Spring 2017 may finally be the time to forgo a top. Victoria Beckham presented geometric bralettes that were far too pretty to obscure with a shirt. Altuzarra, as mentioned, had his lovely printed underthings out for all the world to see. And DKNY's girl gang made cups look tough at the culmination of this season's show.

9. More and more embellishment

Left, Marc Jacobs Spring 2017; right, Rodarte Spring 2017

3D embellishments and lots of texture were present in collections as diverse as Lela Rose, Altuzarra, Rodarte and Marc Jacobs. The latter, who collaborated with the artist Julie Verhoeven on the custom sequined and embroidered furnishings on his fashion, and whose sort of ratchet Rainbow Bright styles drew scrutiny for their dreadlocked hair extensions, seemed to push the texture mix to the limit, incorporating sequins, lamé, fur, tulle and anything else he could lay his hands on, into a pastiched worldview. Rodarte placed more emphasis on the tactile than the visual, turning to shearling and leather in the spring for a warm layer over their sheer frocks.

10. Fresh, iridescent skin

Whether achieved with a gloss (on the eye or the lip or both) or a highlighter, a subtle sheen seemed to be the only accent added to clean, prepped skin at many shows. Makeup artists relied on the model's natural beauty to guide their hand backstage. A wet lid, cheek or lip gave a healthy finish to their fresh faces. Eye glosses were big additions to the artists' bag of tricks this season- and we can't wait to give them a try for spring.

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