Fall 2009 fashion economics

By Ed Biado

You know that the economy is really ailing when even formidable industries like fashion are showing signs of it. Proof: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2009 in New York.

Alexander Wang introduced a more budget-friendly collection by pricing the pieces within the $1,000 ceiling. Mara Hoffman saved tons of dough by sharing her Bryant Park tent with two other designers. Calvin Klein didn?t host its customary afterparty. Proenza Schouler did, but it was BYOB. Vera Wang and Betsy Johnson did without the tent altogether. Instead, they revealed their new lines in their own showrooms. Carmen Marc Valvo and Naeem Khan also ditched the runway and went for more intimate alternatives.

It doesn?t mean, though, that the designs have suffered. It?s quite the opposite of that, actually. Designers are finding more innovative ways to get the attention of buyers and customers. The biggest trend of the season is attainable luxury. Two major approaches to this are, one?maintaining lavish aesthetics while alternating expensive and more sensible fabrics?and two?pairing luxe and not-so-luxe separates.

Take Monique Lhuillier, for example. She debuted her fall 2009 at the Plaza Hotel?s Oak Room one day before Fashion Week officially started. There was no runway. It was essentially a mid-afternoon cocktail party with the models looking like uber-glammed up guests.

It respected the times by doing away with the fantasy of extravagance. Lhuillier only presented 12 of her 35-piece collection that used more-than-you-can-imagine yards of chiffon and tulle all constructed perfectly in voluminous skirt layers. Colors leaned towards more conservative tones like blacks, whites and nudes. The low-key monochromes provided the perfect background to the embellishments, which the designer heavily made use of.

And as if the garments weren?t intricate enough (one look had hundreds of flowers stitched on it), the styling took them from pretty to beautifully edgy with ripped tights worn on the arms and legs under the strapless, sleeveless and one-shoulder dresses.

Back at the tents, the mood in the air is similarly cautious. Designers from Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger to Bryan Reyes and Christian Siriano showed collections with more commercial value than usual. If a softdrink formula works, why change it? But as with everything fashion, some things need to be changed to keep up. So the results are mostly a compromise between artistic creativity and consumer sensibility.

Meanwhile, if there?s someone expected to breach the unspoken economic rules, it?s Marc Jacobs. Sure, he downsized too by slashing 1,300 people from his guestlist of originally 2,000, banning celebrities and canceling his afterparty. But his 10-or-something-minute show that surprisingly started two minutes earlier than scheduled didn?t quite care if the items would sell or not. It was an early-?80s tribute that was too much ?80s. Shoulder pads? The biggest ones to come out this season were on his runway. Colors? Think electric, neon, Cyndi Lauper. Well, just another day at the Jacobs house.

A little confusing, isn?t it? Is there or isn?t there recession? Maybe we?ll know more next season.