General
Fashion is trying to be unfashionable—and buyable
New York fashion week designers scramble as shoppers shun overt signs of luxury
As New York fashion week descends next week, designers are scrambling to be fashionable but not-too fashionable, as shoppers shun overt signs of luxury and women consider their purchases like never before. “Trendy is absolutely not on the customer radar,” says Laura O’Connor, CEO of Zac Posen, one of New York’s darling designers. Cynthia O’Connor, who runs a New York wholesale fashion showroom, says she’ll seek looks that will lift the spirits: brilliant colours, like purple, and lots of flirty, contemporary prints and embellishment. “We’ve gotta give them a reason to shop,” she says. A runway mix of “spunky and dour” is predicted with European designers like Prada likely “to assume a darker view of the world.”