Runway Predictions for 2011

Fashion direction has always hinged on government, economy, politics, and religion. With ten years into the new century, there has been a complete shift in the way business is done. The world has access to hyper-speed communication such as Twitter, and information that moves around the globe in minutes, instantly showing what direction the masses will gravitate towards. As for fashion designers, they must discern accurate social influences one year in advance. Six months later, a runway collection is presented, with the hope of course, it will click with the current social scene. Just a mere twenty five years ago, it would take an social idea or direction between two and twenty years to move around the globe. With that knowledge, it's quite understandable why fashion direction has taken on so many different looks this season. Skirts up, then down , military, medieval, 30's depression era, 1980's, bright colors, dark colors, you think of it, and it will show up. Worldwide economy is linked as much locally as it is globally. For example, California as an independent state is the eighth largest economy in the world. How the state is financially managed by government is very important to the United States and to the world. As for fashion, California is a media center and drives many trends. If I was gathering inspiration to design a Spring/Summer 2011 line, my small sampling of inspiration for social direction today it would read as follows: The world stock markets plunged amid the European announcement to bailout the Greek economy with $ 141b. The central bank in China has announced further tightening to slow the surging economy. Some private economists are predicting the American economy will show growth in the fourth quarter, while Europe’s economy is expected to remain in a recession through the end of 2010. The war in the Middle East continues with no solid signs of ending. There is civil unrest in Thailand and Greece, with both countries rioting against their government for different reasons. In film, Alice in Wonderland is currently the popular movie -fantasy genre. Robin Hood is about to be released, a medieval adventure, dealing with helping the poor. Clearly there are massive social and financial upheavals. So my further research would include finding a past era with similar events (war, recession, political unrest) to our present era. Finally, I would pick a current trend or interest (movie, space, travel, ect.) to blend with that. So when all that information is mixed together, it is my personal opinion we will not be seeing any significant new trends for 2011. When there is less money to spend, accessories will become very popular to change up the look of an outfit. Simplicity, clean lines most important, and basics will be the most popular purchase. Originality will emerge like a phoenix from the streets and take hold when the economy is stable.