Recession Digression

With all of the focus design houses are putting on publicly presenting the "new" seasons of pre-fall and resort, one would think that showing collections to be released so far in the future—before the upcoming season's collections are even available on store shelves—would not be the smartest move in this economy. If we are suppose to covet pieces before they are available for purchase, and in addition be able to see even further into the fashion crystal ball, wouldn't that be a deterrent for consumers to invest in purchases that may not hold weight for seasons to come? Just curious. I think the industry is getting too ahead of itself with the competitive marketing ploys that they are making us move on to the next thing before we can even buy this season's "It". I guess that is the best recession plan I can possibly adhere to. I'm over it before I can buy it. At least as far as the trend-oriented pieces go. But the classic pieces will always remain, well, classic.

Case in point, witness Exhibit A, Alexander Wang's newly released Pre-Fall 2009 presentation:







Versus his Spring 2009 collection, shown last September:






Sure there are some common, uh, threads, but the whole feeling if very different. The silhouettes and essence that makes each collection distinct are not cohesive. The same can be said for other designers' collections. For me it's a mood as much as a piece-by-piece basis that sells a designer, but with the industry leaning towards schizophrenic intentions to create new looks and statement pieces, it's all beginning to get lost in translation. In a time when fashion needs to inspire and offer creative refuge from the economic crisis, it is becoming more blatantly about commerce than art—and soul of the medium in terms of playing to emotion and aspiration loses it's heart.

As much as I love seeing all the new fashions, I think there is a certain need for designers (or rather, the major conglomerations that own them) to take a cue from all the media over-exposure (and subsequent loss of positive public interest) affecting the careers of tarty starlets like Britney and Lindsey, and leave more to the imagination.