When we discussed the possibilities of Alexander Wang’s handbags for Balenciaga back when the young American designer was named to replace Nicolas Ghesquiere as the head of the brand, most of you were not particularly optimistic about Wang would do, particularly compared to the genius of his predecessor. After all, precious few brands can boast a line that’s been as successful as the Balenciaga Motorcycle Bags, which were Ghesquiere’s brainchild.

I can’t believe it’s already the end of Milan Fashion Week! Paris is underway as we speak, but before we fully commit to a new city, we’d like to take a look at some of the best pieces and trends that came out of Italy for Fall 2013. Both fur and exotics are still going strong, and you might want to look for pieces in bright red and cyan to hit stores six months from now.

Sometimes I find it hard to go to a show at fashion week and not get carried away in the beauty of it all. I end up leaving a show and thinking how magical it was, but then I remember that just because the experience is great doesn’t mean the clothing was as well. That’s absolutely not the case for any J.

Big shocker, you guys, but Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana? They’re from Italy, and they’d like you to know more about it. In fact, Dolce & Gabbana has been telling you about it for seasons, often through extremely literal handbag embellishments and occasional pasta jewelry. For Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2013, we have actual mosaics in purse form.

The influences on this collection are actually both Sicilian and Byzantine, but the goal is clear – to make clothes, shoes and bags that are rich in Italian history and the Italianate aesthetic.

Of all of the fraught issues in fashion (and believe me, there are plenty), fur is probably one of the most fraught. It has both ardent defenders and detractors, but mostly, luxury consumers are somewhere in the middle, just like yours truly – aware of the ethical issues with wearing fur, and not necessarily a fur customer, but also not constitutionally opposed to someday becoming a fur customer, were the right piece to cross our paths.

My feelings about any Prada collection are complicated. I know that I’ll love what Miuccia Prada sends down the runway, with few exceptions, but I also know that the bags are almost sure to underwhelm me. (Again, with few exceptions.) That was exactly the case with Prada Fall 2013 – both the clothes and the feel of the show were exceptional; a bravura performance from one of the generation’s great masters, doing what she does best.

In the accessories world, Gucci has some of the best-known and most unique signature details. Horsebits, stirrups, the famous Flora print, the green-and-red webbed stripe – there are a lot of non-logo ways that you can immediately tell you’re looking at a Gucci bag. Perhaps the most recognizably bit of Gucci regalia, though, is bamboo. Introduced in 1947, the famed bamboo handle is getting a thoroughly modern upgrade in matte black for Gucci Fall 2013.

In some ways, London Fashion Week is my favorite, season after season. It’s the shortest of all the cities – something of a Fashion Long Weekend, if we’re being honest – and in that space, it packs in tons of incredibly talented young designers who are doing bold, sometimes even brave, things with clothing, alongside a few bold-face names like Burberry and, this season, Tom Ford.

As quickly as it snuck up on us, Fashion Week has left. It happens every season – fashion week comes and goes in the blink of an eye, and we want to be able to share a bit of the madness that we experience with you. Through our posts, you get a chance to hear about the collections, but with the instantaneous nature of the Internet, you can easily watch the shows and follow along yourself.

Mulberry makes full lines of ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories, of course, but we and they both know what everyone wants to see every season: the bags. Mulberry has been an enormous reputation off of its stylish, functional, totally covetable leather day bags, and by all indications from the Mulberry Fall 2013 show, the brand has no desire to change that. Want a new work bag or roomy weekend bag?