The collections were dark and sombre, falling in line with the economic mood of the world. The subprime fiasco is having global consequences and the luxury industry is wondering what part of their business is going to take the biggest hit. There was a general turn to the masculine throughout the week. Some trends this fashion week were widespread and others just a ripple.


Red (pictured Zero Maria Cornejo)
Red is a great change from the pinks that have been popular over the last few seasons. Burnt hues dominated the runway with the heavyweights Proenza Schouler, Herve Leger and Oscar de la Renta. There were reds across the spectrum from the bright supersaturated version at Y3, Zero Maria Cornejo and Marchesa and the more purple based reds at Zac Posen, Reyes and Donna Karen.


Blue (pictured Marchesa)
Blue was another dominate force with many designers falling under its spell. Cobalt blue was the standout shade and designers like Betsey Johnston, Karen Walker, Matthew Williamson and Oscar de la Renta used it. The darker shades of blue were plentiful and some standouts did the opposite. Rodarte used the lightest shade of baby blue that lent well to their twisted fairy tale themed collection. Other notable blues were used by Narciso Rodriguez, Marchesa, Preen, Proenza Schouler and Benjamin Cho.


Blue and Black (pictured Marc by Marc Jacobs)
Blue was popular but so was pairing it with black as seen at Calvin Klien, Doo ri, Vera Wang, Zero Maria Cornejo, Proenza Schouler, Rag and Bone, Lela Rose, Costello Tagliapetra, Elle Tahari, Benjamin Cho, Bill Blass, Derek Lam and Thakoon. That list is nowhere near complete.



Velvet (pictured Ports 1961)
I’m not a big fan of velvet but I’m in the minority. The darker colour palette of fall 2008 2009 lends itself well to velvet. Dresses were staples, but you could find a pair of velvet pants at Carolina Herrera. Some of the majors using velvet include Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Oscar de la Renta.


Bows (pictured Carolina Herrara)
Oversized bows adorned many a blouse during New York fashion week. Proenza Schouler had my favourite version of the bow in my opinion. Thakoon, United Bamboo, Carolina Herrera, Doo ri, Jason Wu, Ruffian and Marc by Marc Jacobs all used bows in their collections.


Flora and Nature (pictured Benjamin Cho)
It took NYC a season to jump on this bandwagon. It was used sparingly in many collections and a few chose to make abundance use of the theme. Florals a la Balenciaga were featured at Betsey Johnson, Diane Von Furstenberg, Erin Featherstone, Karen Walker and Bill Blass. Designers like Marchesa, Benjamin Cho and Koi Suwannagate used textile flowers as embellishments on dresses.


Neo Gothic (pictured Rodarte)
This is a small but interesting trend that uses qualities from past period with a contemporary spin. Rad Hourani (a Canadian) had a beautiful collection of black and red. Rodarte’s punk rock fairies were complete with spike Christian Louboutin pumps. Ruffian, Phi and even bridal queen Vera Wang infused the past with the present.


Tartan (pictured Ralph Lauren)
Some designers turned traditional tartan on hits head like Thakoon, Ports 1961. Some collections were overrun with tartan like Ralph Lauren and Thakoon. The amount of red tartan on the runway solidifies the colours dominance this season.


Bright tights (pictured Anna Sui)
Tights of all colours and prints were a favourite trend of fashion week. It's something that is accessible to everyone. I loved the rich opaque tights shown at Proezna Scholuer and inspired me to break out my mustard ones and pair them with burgundy shoes. Rad Hourani sent completely red looks down the runway. Erin Fetherston, xxx, and xxxx also stuck to the solid colour. Printed tights in New York were in force at Anna Sui, Philosophy, Karen Walker and Miss Sixty.

The cocoon silhouette was very popular among the designers. Other colours looking to make an impression are gold and pumpkin. We'll see what the other fashion weeks bring to the trend landscape.

images: style.com