Economic downturn changes the look of 2009-2010?

Open any newspaper and you'll quickly read of the doom and gloom of the global credit crunch. Much like the economic downturn of the 80s and 90s, will this current 'crisis' have an effect on future fashion collections? How about fashionisers' fashion tastes?

In their fashion trend report for 2009 fashion trends and 2010 fashion trends,Stahl doesn't claim to have the answer, but they're certainly noticing the shift.

After several seasons of over-abundance, eccentricity and the triumph of artificial over the natural, there is a strong desire to return to a state of equilibrium. Is this a reflection of the current world economic climate? Has this resulted in a wish for fashion to take things steady rather than go overboard? Or is it simply a question of pausing for thought while we mix technical and traditional once more?

Of course, we won't really know what sort of changes we can expect until the Spring 2009 catwalk shows being shortly. Personally I'm tipping some subtle changes. We have to be mindful of the fact that we live in a time of faux luxury, where expensive designer labels are really what most people are investing in (as opposed to quality luxury fabrication). As a result, designers could well use lower quality fabrics as a means of creating less demure, though cheaper, collections. On the flip-side however is the issue of who the credit crunch is actually effecting. Will the likes of Gucci be forced to create cheaper collections for the shrinking wallets of the middle classes, or can they find survive solely on the purchases of the largely unaffected upper classes?