经济衰退 流行风也跟着改变

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After a hectic week of fittings, photo shoots and fashion shows, New York Fashion Week is over. But for designers, the challenge goes on. How to get consumers shopping in the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue, said the recession has caused designers to become more focused. But focused doesn't mean boring.

We are looking for things that are very special, and not, not that looks like what you already have or already exist, I think. Every store that I talked to has that in the back of his or her mind when they revisit the collections and it's something what we are looking for at Vogue.

Many designers are putting more focus on their affordable lines, like Christian Siriano. He showed his 2010 spring collection at the 10th, but said his real bread and butter comes from his collaboration with mass retailers. He recently launched a line of accessories available at Payless, a discount shoe store chain. One of the more innovative approaches to tackling the recession may have come from Norma Kamali. Giving new meaning to the democratization of fashion, she staged her show on a New York City street. Like many designers, she now uses Twitter and YouTube. But her company has gone further with its own free iPhone application. Instead of having to wait until the clothes hit the store in spring, consumers were able to order them with the application as soon as her show was over.

I want to open a door, and maybe a whole bunch of other people will come through the door with me and help find new solutions to the way we do business in the fashion industry.

Kamali is not optimistic about the future of the economy. But there are some positive data indicating that shoppers are hitting the stores again. Retail sales rose 2.7 percent in August, more than analysts had expected.

Karina Huber, Reuters.