From left: Balenciaga, Gareth Pugh, Christian Dior
We're nearing the end of the fashion season and disgruntled rumblings are already being heard about the clothes. Even from designers such as Prada who usually wear their eccentric hearts on their sleeves the mood has been conservative and dare I say it a little sombre as the spectre of a US recession casts a shadow over the fashion world.
The hype surrounding the so-called 'credit crunch' which has led to repossessions and increasing debt in the US has sparked fears of a worldwide recession. The weak dollar has prevented buyers from large stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys attending London Fashion Week. "London designers are the icing on the cake," said Averyl Oates, the fashion director of Harvey Nichols. "And these days no one needs extra icing."
With a general tightening of the purse-strings designers cannot afford to alienate their core customers who -trustfunds notwithstanding, are never going to be hip young things with a penchant for rubber. Designers have been adding outrageous styling to ramp up the excitement of a fairly conventional show (Dior) or just toning down their collection and reducing the number of adventurous pieces (Balenciaga). It is no coincidence that most of these large fashion houses are owned by traditional corporate organisations with a young designer at the helm. Making a profit is the raison d'etre for fashion, more so than ever before and if the world isn't feeling fiscally adventurous then the fashion houses have to follow suit.
Autumn/Winter is usually the most exciting of the two fashion seasons as there are only so many things you can do with floral dresses and beachwear but it looks like come September we'll all be embracing austerity and minimalism.
