Paris show takes a bold look to the future

THIS SEASON'S sartorial tale of two cities may have started with slump-chested pessimism in Milan, where the answer to the sorry state of the world was to throw in the towel, stay home from the office and protest in your pj's. But it ended in Paris last week with strong, square-shouldered optimism. Designers here metaphorically (and literally, in the case of Adam Kimmel's striped terry cloth blazer) took it upon themselves to turn that towel into something stylish to wear. "By spring 2009," they seemed to say, "the world will be a better place, and we're ready to dress accordingly."

By Adam Tschorn

July 6, 2008