Sometimes, it can be so refreshing to see a flat shoe walk down a runway! Especially when it’s in metallic gold so liquid-like or exotic skin so luxe it’s utterly eye-catching. And especially when it’s done by Derek Lam. It was hard for me to take my eyes off the Fall 2012 clothes – white lambskin! lacquere florals! ecologique shearling ! – but the selection of shoes played the exact role they were supposed to: complement the outfits without totally stealing the show.

Derek has mastered the art of the day-to-night shoe. More casual girls (who perhaps have a glammed-up Patti Smith-kind of swagger) will appreciate a low ankle boot possessing enough sheen and sense of dress to tread into the evening. Curvy cutouts were made even sexier by a no-nonsense ankle-strap – the best of this bunch was a floral bouquet, set off by a bold, black cap-toe. A little flowery freshness might be just the way to kick off next fall with some spring in your step. Platform pumps, accented with oxford perforation, that will appeal to every age – they’ve got just the right balance of downtown and uptown. And so does Derek, proving once again he knows what city girls want – all of them.