NYFW + CNBC = …Something? Anything?

madeline bears it at cushnie et ochs spring 09.jpg

Now that New York's part of Spring 09 is over, we can start connecting the polka dots and thinking of the whole blur as a whole, maybe to great effect, maybe just for fun.

Eric Wilson's weekend article on the sheer trend seen at Marc, Calvin Klein and Cushnie et Ochs got the ball rolling - did we notice that there were, in fact, so many nipples on the runways? Did we care? Not really, but here's another thought -

We've been thinking about the sheer trend as one of the many symptoms of a general flashiness witnessed at the shows. The other symptoms - otherwise known as trends - include sequins (more on that later), ruffles, excesses of fabric (floaty dresses, exaggerated harem pants), super short hemlines, super high shoes, and the same super heavy costume jewelry from Fall 08 creeping up onto models' heads, as seen at DVF and Behnaz.

But haven't we always heard that tough economic times are mirrored on the runway, in the form of longer hemlines, more conservative dress (read: none of the under-boob cleavage as seen at Cushnie), and a general boring tone? Yes, this Fashion Week was a little humdrum, but the clothes were showy if not stale, kind of like a day-old cupcake. Is it because we know we're not exactly listening to the news that backgrounded our daily fix of fashion news from The Daily? Like, news that one of the country's oldest and largest investment banks died hard while we considered the most appropriate diameter of sequins for a mini dress?

Or do the flashy looks prove it's just a fun theory not meant for serious analysis? We do know there are some people who think the opposite - that designers glam up their clothes in harder times so consumers are more enticed to part with their dwindling dollar supply.

But of course, that makes it so much stickier.

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