Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for IMG

Models walk the runway at the Davidelfin Spring 2010 Fashion Show at the Promenade during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Bryant Park. The economy and its effect on a luxury industry like high fashion is an inevitable topic as Mercedes Benz Fashion Week begins in New York .  How will the collections show the change from opulence to struggle?   Do we escape to a dream or grapple with reality? How are designers evolving to fit the market.. etc  As we tend to do, we squeeze meaning from these lovely collections and we are wringing our hands pretty hard.  Davidelfin’s aqua utilitarianism is lively and uplifting.  He has been monochromatizing for a while.  Last year was pink and neutrals.  This year it’s a medical green.

The broad application of one color theme to a collection can be read as a gesture of making due.  What does one do if they only have one dye lot to choose from in making ones product for the year?  One stretches it out.  Davidelfin absolutely stretches this acid green color out, mutes it and covers almost every model in it.

What does a clothing maker do when they can’t afford new fabric?  They cannibalize bits of old garments or take what is left from past projects and eek out a garment from patches.  Yigal Azrouel, BCBG MAx Azria, Cynthia Steffe and Preen’s Thornton Bregazzi use piecing to great effect in their collections.  Whatever the motive, whether as a gesture of recycling, a nod to punk or celebration of the eclectic, the look adds an edge that traditional handiwork does not often have.

The engraving of beggar known as Priscilla sewing patchwork quilts for sale while sitting against wall of New River Water Works, taken fr. book LIVES OF FAMOUS LONDON BEGGARS (bottom) shows that the re-contextualizing of textile has been alive and well for a very long time.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for IMG – Thomas Concordia/WireImage/Getty Images

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images – Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for IMG

Time Life Pictures/Mansell/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

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Here we go! We knew it was only a matter of time…With constant talk of recession, “bailouts,” the mortgage and loan crisis, Wall Street’s crazy fluctuations, it’s no wonder there’s a massive trust deficit going on. The question on top of everyone’s mind is, “Who caused this? Someone must have failed us.”

Our trust in the system has been shattered and it only makes sense that we begin to see advertisements reflect this sentiment of distrust. Some will be done in a tongue-and-cheek way like the ad above, other companies will look to re-establish trust and loyalty by going back to basics through conveying the message of “what really matters”. Expect to see more ads showing families bonding at home and less of ads highlighting extravagant lifestyles.

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