SS09>TREND>Aves

If i've learned anything from this fashion week, it's that a lot of the clothes for spring don't make sense. Yeah, the recession messes things up a bit. So maybe we can't afford the glitz and sprightly detail of last year. Fashion is function blah blah. But a long way from "pretty", it's hard to discern any significance of the modern woman being likened to-a bird. Designers have attached wings, feathers, webbed feet, and what looks like a flying saucer for Martin Margiela. Darwin once claimed, it is the species most adaptable to change that survives. I suppose everyone has they're own way of coping.

From top left, left to right: Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Rick Owens, Martin Margiela;
Francesco Scognamiglio, Dsquared2, Comme Des Garcons;
Martin Margiela, both Gareth Pugh
Both Francesco Scognamiglio, Hussin Chalayan

SS09>TREND>Jumpsuits

Not quite your racy crime fighting catsuits, tomorrows jumpsuits are rather skydiving chic. Consistent with the masculinity of next spring, they replace the skirt and even threaten the suit. Who would have thought a jumpsuit could become a safe fashion statement? Sure they eliminate doubts of comfort and function, but will this new sportif be worn by society women? After all, Halston and Gautier have jumped on the bandwagon.

Top left from left to right: Missoni, Jean Paul Gautier, Max Mara;
DKNY, Halston, Rachel Roy;
Roberto Cavalli, Etro, Gucci;
Below: Hussein Chalaya, Anne Valerie Hash, Derek Lam;
DKNY, Danielle Scutt, Dries Van Noten

SS09>TREND>Achromatic

Last spring colors were a sign of hope that led ready to wear through an optimistic season. Yellows, pastels, and metallics sprouted in every collection. Like the economy that forecasts a decline in revelry, the women of next season dress for little to celebrate. Nudes and beige's are prevalent as models are stripped to the basics. Neutrality is safe, and stresses a need for only the essentials. When I see a woman sporting beige, I think she's being sensible.

From top left, left to right: Martin Margiela, Balenciaga, Helmut Lang;
Narciso Rodriguez, Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein;
Jean Paul Gautier, Prada, Anne Valerie Hash;
Bottega Veneta, Derek Lam, Max Mara

SS09>TREND>Emerald City

We've seen her ruby red slippers retransformed this fall. And while Dorothy's baby-blue checked gingham dress and pigtails are nice, the peasant look's been tossed into the past. Emerald City, the fictitious capital of OZ, is a fit metaphor for the future. These bejeweled, glitterfied, and patchwork garments are some of the few strips of color in the futuristic spring collections. in 2009, shape becomes a new luxury, as tomorrow's woman is urbanized and new worldly. If Dorothy could reemerge from Emerald City in 2009, this is how she would look. Her signature look is so Cavalli last spring.

Clockwise from top left, left to right: Emilio Pucci, Balmain, Etro;
Roberto Cavalli, Malo, Betsey Johnson; YSL