The Opptimists vs The Pessimists

Fashion is often a reflection of the times, and with such a huge economic downturn everyone looked to the Fall 2009 runways to see how the designers would react and adapt to the current situation. Looking through all the shows this season it seemed to me that they were generally taking a negative or positive standpoint.

The optimists (above:House of Holland,Galliano,Erin Fetherston,Betsey Johnson,Preen,LV,Blumarine,Marc Jacobs) showed a range of brighter colors and more fun, flirty styles. Their aim was to offer beautiful clothes to make women feel better and cheer them up through this hard time. For example in Marc Jacobs' signature line he went back to the 1980's because he missed just the pure joy of dressing up. These designers also created more fantasy on the runway with whimsical designs like Galliano's fairytale folk princesses.

The pessimists (above:Calvin Klein,Michael Kors,YSL,Givenchy,Chanel,Fendi,Rag&Bone,Chanel) offered more restrained collections with sensible options for working women. Mostly grays and black were used and designers went back to basics showing well-tailored skirt suits. Many designers even opted to forgo sending luxurious evening gowns down the runway-Michael Kors showed a few knee-length cocktail dresses and at YSL the last look was a black tuxedo coat-dress.

In my opinion both sides offered good viewpoints and in the end they all showed beautiful clothes, whether they were understated or lavish. I understand the necessity for sensible clothing today and many of these pieces were elegant and timeless allowing them to be worn for years. However dressing up does always makes me feel better so I loved the fun and up beat collections as well. I think the two sides end up balancing each other very well.
(Pictures via Style.com)