“I’m not interested in anything intimidating. It’s about who I am, dressing up, and still feeling cool and casual,” said Richard Chai backstage at his men’s show. “Last season it was very carefree, very California. So this season we made it sharp and very precise.”

That duality, echoed in his Love women’s collection a few days earlier, has permeated the fall collections—power dressing but with an eye toward the weekend. Among Chai’s sharp tailoring were many a casual moment. Narrow suits were tempered with funnel-collared shirts, peacoats came extra-roomy, black boots in slick pony hair, a military jacket was paired with baggy shorts in a creamy lumberjack plaid, and Andrej Pejic looked like he was wearing pajamas under his blazer.