Each fashion season, someone desires to know what color is the “new black.” This moment, the new black is no color at all.

Among the scores of designers who revealed their newest collections this week in New York Fashion Week, a striking number intense on looks with scarcely any color.

The dominant tones for next spring and summer, in collections with those of Donna Karan, Alexander Wang and G-Star, were solid white, beige, ivory, khaki, olive, oatmeal and terracotta.

Such hues are an inherent part of the uniforms, or daily wear, in consumers’ wardrobes, said Paco Underhill, author of “What Women Want.” In the fashion business, those daily uniforms give the most revenue, he said.

However neutrals don’t of necessity indicate boring, and they can range from pale rose to cavernous russet, said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute which information on the pinnacle colors each season.

Some designers stayed predominantly with neutrals but perked up their collections with splashes of dazzling colors.

Ralph Lauren, who revealed his Western-inspired collection on Thursday, adhered mostly to cream, ivory, parchment and saddle brown tones, brought to life with glittering platinum lame and sparkling beaded fringe.

Manhattan is certainly the place to be during Fashion Week, but that doesn’t mean New Yorkers never obtain a bout of nostalgia for the open outdoors. Possibly that’s what hit sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the powerhouse pair behind Rodarte, when designing for spring 2011.

The collection conjures images of the countryside with its array of rich browns, golds, and rustic white and blue patterns, not to declare models rocking wood-paneling superior than the walls of a ‘70s ranch-style loft.

The Mulleavys run to modernize the appear with artful touches, such as cut-out shoulders, structured silhouettes, and a gorgeous golden gladiator get-up.

And gone are the ultra-superfluous tacked-on fabrics—we love this innovative, almost minimal direction that Rodarte is heading in.

Tommy Hilfiger’s last runway show here representatively and nostalgically closed out New York Fashion Week’s run at Bryant Park, and his spring-summer 2011 mens’ and women’s collections, presented on the runways at Lincoln Center on Sunday night was another symbol — but concerning the future.

“We look forward to distribution the next 25 years with you,” said a voice (presumably Hilfiger’s) over the loudspeaker at the begin of the show, which was packed with famous person attendees including Jennifer Lopez, Bradley Cooper, Christina Hendricks and Neil Patrick Harris (sitting left to right in that order, by the way).

The top of the runway was conquered by ivy-covered arches reminiscent of the cover shot from “Take Ivy,” photographer Teruyoshi Hayashida’s 1965 book of photos that captured Ivy League campus style (and that was reissued in August 2010), and the show invitations had arrived nestled in a box with a thatch of faux ivy hedge, but once the show in progress, it was clear that Hilfiger was taking his notion of prep ahead of make that over — the hedge.

Described in the show notes as “twisted country club,” by the preppy roots of the brand as a point of launch pad for the kind of pleasant riffs we’re more used to seeing from fashion designers like Thom Browne and Scott Sternberg.

Afterward, Hilfiger hosted a 25th anniversary party next door at the Metropolitan Opera House, whole with a red carpet lined by models kitted out in the iconic preppy silhouette of navy blue blazer and khaki trousers and a musical recital by the Strokes.