Above: Constructivist works by Ivan Puni & Antoine Pevsner.

Russian Constructivism inspired many designers this fall.  Like Art Deco (another major runway reference), Constructivism obsessively played with industry and technology (think of the creative use of synthetics/plastics this season), bold colors, & geometric forms.

 At right, FW07 accessories, from top: Junya Watanabe, Marni, Pucci.

Unlike Art Deco, however, Constructivism was resolutely non-representational. Not merely decorative, it was art with a political purpose, specifically the construction of the ill-fated socialist state.

For more info on the movement, read the Constructivism Wikipedia article here; read more here and here.  Constructivist Aleksander Rodchenko was particularly influential; read his Wikipedia article, go through his MOMA exhibit website, and see his  worker jumpsuit (another big fall trend).  For more visual inspiration, check out related art movements at Merrill C. Berman Collection (Modernism); Decopix: The Art Deco Resource; Pochoir Prints (Art Deco & Art Nouveau), and an excellent V&A Art Deco exhibit site (with Quicktime panoramas).

Examples from major FW07 shows  (left to right, row by row): Carolina Herrera, Hussein Chalayan, Alberta Ferretti, Proenza Schouler, Hussein Chalayan, Alberta Ferretti, Etro, Chloe. Not shown: FW07 Marni, Vera Wang, Missoni, Emilio Pucci, Marc Jacobs, Junya Watanabe; SS07 Miu Miu.  See full images & collections at Style.com.