Designs of the past return

Uneventful and lacking surprises seemed to be the main characteristics of the Fall 2003 Fashion Week in New York City. The old saying "New Yorkers are more anxious to leave social events than they are to go to them" proved true. The week started off slow and gradually declined as time went on. Recent articles in Women's Wear Daily and in The New York Times have criticized American designers and the dismal mood of this week's collections for the upcoming season. Most critics have cut the designers some slack, attributing the lack of frill to the recent economic decline and the code orange terrorist threat New York was under the entire week. I was not surprised -- most people forget that fashion is directly affected by politics, the economy and social unrest. No matter what state the economy is in, the looks on the runway were certain to be conservative. \nConservative is exactly how I would describe this past week: designers covered the essentials and nothing more. The biggest trend for next fall is the pleated skirt, black leather, fitted everything. The minimalist look is back. There were not a lot of accessories, and the color scheme for most was black, brown, olive green, grey and bordeaux. Kenneth Cole took us back to Vietnam with his 60s mod London look. Ralph Lauren's collection was plain in colors of brown, olive green and black, and ended in a palette of white. Luella Bartley's collection was like something out of a war-torn 80s movie. Donna Karan emphasized the tall slender figure with all black cat suits and leggings. Calvin Klein was also plain with colors like navy blue, bordeaux and black, but he kept the girlishness alive with pleated skirts and plenty of dresses.\nThere were a few surprises to the season's collections. Fusha, a line produced by Marie Claudinette Jean, the wife of Wyclef Jean was the hit of the week. The line seemed to be tropical island-inspired but with a very sophisticated twist. In bright colors of pink, red and yellow, the collection included a men's suit that was a pinstriped overalls, underneath a matching jacket, and diagonal cut dresses. Many say she will be giving Kimora Lee of Baby Phat, some stiff competition. The show was so hot, the organizers played the video recording of the show over and over again. Alice Roi was another designer that didn't succumb to the bland mood. The collection included puffy mini-party skirts in pink and white, with thigh high boots and colorful tops.\nThe week ended on much of the same note as it began. The talk was of nothing else, but of Sean "P Diddy" Combs and the behavior of his security guards. The entertainment mogul spent a whooping $75,000 on his show as reported by Extra, and had over 800 guests in attendance. \nAccording to some reports, two or three legit journalists were man-handled at his show. The straw broke the camel's back when a photographer was hit over the head with a piece of railing. Many journalists criticized the bad boy's behavior, when he didn't show up to his own after party. Instead Combs took the red eye to Atlanta for the All-Star game. Apparently, Combs has had a running track record of roughing up journalists, and many writers vowed not to give him a good review.\nThe week didn't end well for Lars Nillson of Bill Blass either. The designer, who has only worked for Blass for six seasons, was fired at the end of the week. Nillson's entire team was terminated after the Fashion Week's finale. \nAlthough the week was dismal, many of the people in attendance stood in line waiting to get into the shows and be seen among New York's top socialites.\nLet's face it, most of us can't get enough of buying the latest looks, and styling through campus like we're on a catwalk. We can't get enough of looking through fashion magazines and cooing over the latest Louis Vuitton bag. No matter what the designers put out -- whether it's canary yellow velour pants or paper bag skirts -- we will always find a way to squeeze it into our wardrobes. For many, fashion is as important as sports and politics and for some, it always will be. \nIf you are wanting to purchase the looks on the runway, you can find most of them at department stores such as Marshall Fields, Nieman Marcus, and Parisian. In areas like New York and Chicago many of the designers have their own boutiques, so try there. Surprisingly, most of the clothes aren't excessively expensive and a woman could always use a very nice piece to wear on special occasions. Remember it's not the quantity, but the quality.