Michael Kors used a predominantly black palette. He kept his silhouettes full on top with luscious wrap coats and narrow on the bottom with skinny trousers and leggings. But the searing images from the presentation were the metal studs on belts and leather jackets.

The effect was one of cold aggression and seemed to heighten the vague sense of tension that most folks take to bed every night.

Just recently, Kors, along with Sportswear Holdings Ltd., acquired full control of the Michael Kors brand. Kors, along with partners Silas Chou and Lawrence Stroll, bought out interests that had been held by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Onward Kashiyama.

The goal is to expand the reach of the company and to focus on its small menswear business. Kors put examples of his menswear on the runway for fall and it was in many ways as dark and as hard-edged as the women’s line. In particular, the distressed leather jacket in dark brown paired with matching trousers lacked the body-conscious sensuality needed to make the ensemble enticing rather than off-putting.

Catherine Malandrino also focused on the dark side with harsh leather jackets and punishing heels that had models leaving skid marks as they slipped on stage. Malandrino presented her collection at the same theater that houses the Broadway version of Russell Simmons’s Def Poetry Jam. She also borrowed poet Staceyann Chin and the production’s disc jockey — Tendaji — who mixed and scratched a live soundtrack.