Fashion veterans Diane von Furstenberg and Anna Sui are updating classic styles from very different historical periods for their Spring/Summer 2010 collections. NY1's Samantha Liebman filed the following report.

A re-imagining of ancient style was on the mind of Diane von Furstenberg as she created pieces for modern Greek goddesses and Egyptian queens in her latest collection.

"Like the 19th century painters of England created these pre-Raphaelite paintings that were all about antiquity, that's where I went," von Furstenberg said. "So there's a lot of liquidity, a lot of draping. But our girl is modern, so she wears T-shirts under the draping."

In addition to T-shirts, the modern classical woman also needs her handbags, which there were plenty of. The flowing fabrics were covered with intricate prints in chiffon and jersey, some adorned in tiger stripes and African beads in colors like desert yellow, blue and green -- a collection like an oasis in the Sahara desert.

"It was incredible. Are you kidding? It was the hair, the accessories, the hair accessories, the beadwork on the dresses. It was so incredibly down to earth but still had that element of glamour," said celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe.

If only the classical Grecian woman had macrame dresses and foiled silk skirts.

From Diane von Furstenberg's ancient Greece, we headed over to Anna Sui's England of the 1830s and Dr. Dolittle.

"I thought about Dr. Dolittle, which was a movie made in the 60s. It was supposed to be about 1830s England, but it was made during a period when men's fashion was really happening," Sui said. "I loved all of the windowpane paints. One of the characters had a smock shirt with liberty prints."

The masculine influence manifests in very feminine ways from princess sleeves to colors like purple and lilac. Besides taking cues from Dr. Dolittle, Sui also incorporated styles from the time when the movie was made -- the 1960s. So there's a little mod mixed in with more classic calico and floral prints. And even with the seemingly busy embellishment, Sui says the clothes are practical.

"I'm a very realistic designer, so when you pull away the backdrop, pull away the hair and makeup, and all the accessories, you have great dresses, great jackets, great pants suits," Sui said.