Spring Fashion Week Update: Endurance And Fantasy at the Tents

Author: Faith-Ann Young
Posted on: Tuesday September 15, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Filed under: exclusive, fashion

The new (walkable) Times Square, Sept 12th, 2009.

NYC is not just "bright lights, big city," as described by writer Jay McInerney - NYC is infamously tough and unforgiving - a tricky chess dance of survival. Though these darker character traits do not go hand-in-hand with NYC's glamorous guise, it is this stubborn perseverance that has fueled this year's fashion week.

Take Fashion's Night Out: Out came the stilettos and stars (including Justin), the editors, the vixens, and most importantly the credit cards, despite the rain, despite the next morning's 9/11 memorial services, despite the economy (and for retailers - because of the economy), in order to celebrate fashion.

This is during the same week that Obama headed downtown to Wall Street to try to reinvigorate the spirits of our dismal banking sector. Thus, it is a hard time - and as we shuffled from show to show, we noted that NY had a post-apocalyptic feeling to it.

Justin has said " In the turmoil of the industry, doing a fashion show is like throwing something at the wind" and William Rast did not host a show this year. However, remarkably, other fashion shows have gone on and there was still a zoo of precariously stilletooed elk pushing and pleading at each and every entrance. As for the fashion? For the Spring 2010 collections, we've found many shows to be filled with whimsy and fantasy - to lighten our spirits and regale our imaginations despite it all - or perhaps in denial of it all.