Designers play it safe as economy sours

"I don't think it's been as exciting as other seasons," Alexandra Shulman, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, told The Associated Press. "On the whole, most of the designers here have kind of stuck to what they know they can do, and not really tried anything that's going to scare the horses."

Major trends included lashings of color and print, sheer fabrics, sequins for day and sky-high hemlines.

"We've seen a lot of very short clothes, which goes against the old idea that when the economy is bad, hemlines go down," Shulman said.

LOUIS VUITTON

The skirts at Louis Vuitton suggested the economy will be skyrocketing by next summer.

"There's next to nothing, there's nothing, and then there's less than nothing," designer Marc Jacobs joked backstage, referring to the miniskirts that were sliced in the back to reveal a hint of bare bottom.

Models paraded to a soundtrack of Edith Piaf songs in outfits that blended a retro peak-shouldered silhouette with exotic embellishment, to stunning effect. Feathers, totems and beads dangled off fierce platform sandals, while waists were nipped in with leather obi belts.

Vuitton chairman and CEO Yves Carcelle refused to discuss the economy, preferring instead to greet celebrity guests including rocker Lenny Kravitz and director Sofia Coppola, who currently stars in ads for the brand with her father Francis Ford Coppola.

He was no doubt hoping brightly colored handbags trimmed with leopard skin will keep the tills ringing for the French luxury powerhouse. Actress Kerry Washington was already putting in her orders, pronouncing a scoop-backed black satin dress with sequined sleeves "amazing."