This evolving sportswear collection has taken sophistication to a whole new level this season, adding a group of made-in-Italy separates created by Omar Bertona, the brand’s new head of design. Inspired by the Italian island Pantelleria, which is just between the nation’s boot tip and the Tunisian coast, the palette is sophisticated and colorful. Exclusive prints are inspired by local flora, and fabrics come from the most refined Italian and European mills. Viscose is blended with cotton for airy “sweater-weight” tops that are buttery soft to the touch, yet cool in almost any climate.

Ralph Lauren and KITH alumnus Holden Akerley brings a “notice me” quality to what are ostensibly American classic clothes. Oh, sure, the paillettes and sequins could bring a certain “Liberace” quality, but these designer handles them so deftly, surrounding them with sophisticated pieces like a slightly cropped DB blazer, pale blue wide-legged pants that are just a shade lighter than a pair of perfectly faded jeans, and jaunty Hawaiian prints that are handled quietly in two-tone separates, that they seem like—as the old line from It’s A Wonderful Life goes—“just something I throw on when I don’t care what I look like.”

Possibly the preppiest brand in the world, J. Press is getting a fresh infusion of energy via the addition of Creative Director Jack Carlson. The Rowing Blazers founder and former creative director brings a scholarly approach to design, and this collection mines the rich history of the nation’s Ivy League colleges. Each piece seemed to be like something you’re just sure you already have in your closet, but when you look, you realize you need this one, too. Carlson’s use of vivid primary colors provides contrast to earthy tones in tweedy, professorial, tailored pieces, knits, and outerwear.

Designer Maxime Cazelles combines his French design sensibility with Los Angeles, California’s rugged outdoor aesthetic. For his debut collection, he’s created the Syera Nyrvana Touring Corp., part of a fictional world that combines elements of nature’s beauty from around the world: a national park of the mind. Don’t be fooled, though: those robust silhouettes are crafted from sophisticated, luxurious fabrics. The designer says the pieces are not trying to be high luxe, but “fair luxury,” so a scrumptious cashmere shirt retails for $1,800, when it could easily go for more than twice that much. Other materials include Japanese-woven herringbone cotton twill and a thick, upholstery-grade Ultrasuede. An artist’s hand-painted (also fictional) topographical map becomes an ersatz camouflage print.