THE temperature has been hovering around 10 degrees celsius in Milan, which is usual for the February-March period when the city annually hosts its Fashion Week, showcasing Italian designers' upcoming Autumn/Winter collections. The weather might have remained constant between last year and this year, but the economy has undergone a sea change.

The chill of the unprecedented global economic meltdown is pervading the top fashion houses for sure, even if they don't want to admit it openly, and it has cast a pall over the fashion shows which were held all over the city. 'The fashion houses are very worried. These are really bad times. A number of buyers have also not come to Milan Fashion Week and we've seen a number of empty seats in some of the shows,' says Albertina Marzotto, a senior fashion journalist with La Repubblica, the Italian daily. The show - for most - is still going on.

Milan Fashion Week kicked off on Feb 24, in the face of front page news about debts, bankruptcies and cost-cutting, as reported in the retailers' daily newspaper Women's Wear Daily distributed at the various show venues.

Saks Fifth Avenue's US$99 million loss made the headlines on the first day of Milan Fashion Week, while the next day, the front page story was about Italian fashion house IT Holding SpA filing for bankruptcy protection. IT Holding owns Gianfranco Ferre, and also production and licensing company Ittierre, which handles the Just Cavalli, VJC Versace, Versace Sport, and Galliano labels.

The Just Cavalli show was (conveniently) cancelled - reporters were notified just a day before - with designer Robert Cavalli claiming substandard production. The designer has since distanced himself from the label, as his contract expires in two seasons.

Italian journalists are also questioning unnecessary expenses, with a few pressing the mayor to reveal how much it costs the city to host 'Extreme Beauty', an exhibition of photographs by American Vogue, in collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana.

Fashion houses themselves are also trimming the fat off their operations, by plugging perks like champagne and slashing the list of celebrity appearances. In fact, Dolce & Gabbana's show was the main one which sported a handful of celebrities such as supermodel Claudia Schiffer and actress Scarlett Johansson, and also a few Italian actresses. Photographers had to content themselves largely with trendily dressed fashion journalists at the showings for Giorgio Armani, Burberry, MaxMara, Prada, Ferragamo and Dsquared2.

But the top designers did put up shows even if they were without much frills. Giorgio Armani's collection was elegant and beguiling, especially with its ultra-sophisticated evening gowns in various shades of grey. Gucci's was high in bling and the more wearable pieces might be the 80s-inspired colour blocked-tops. Salvatore Ferragamo featured rich burgundy and deep plum in an elegant and sexy collection that should segue easily into its stores from the runway.

Prada's collection may not be as iconic as its lacey pieces this season but it certainly reflected a 'return to the country' feel with its many references to farm wear but in an inimitable fashion-forward sense that only Miuccia Prada can pull off.

Not that this year's Autumn/Winter collection is completely in tweed and wool, of course. The season's usual luxurious accents are still very much present in all the top labels' collections, just done with more discretion and in a more restrained manner (think collars and sleeves and coatees in shaggy fur). And if designers didn't have to contend with shrinking fashion budgets, there were animal rights groups to deal with.

MaxMara's full-length fur coats must have been the reason why it was singled out for a public protest - five naked women with only briefs on, painted in streaks of red, lying on a ground of fur outside the show venue, on the morning of the label's runway show. But frankly, that was the highlight of an otherwise staid and predictable collection in the brand's signature browns.

Of course, designers like Dolce & Gabbana also went to the other extreme, thumbing its nose at the present economic sentiments, to present a flamboyant, highly theatrical collection with oversized sleeves and the likeness of Marilyn Monroe printed on its silk dresses. But on the whole, the colours and the designs seen were on the sombre side, with industry observers reckoning that these have to be saleable rather than statement-making collections.

'Yes, cost was an issue in the collection this time . . . Prada tried very hard to keep down the cost without compromising on the design. But definitely, we took the economic crisis into account in our designs this season,' mentioned an anonymous female designer from Prada.

If there's any brand that's going to ride the storm, it has to be Prada though, the designer acknowledges, in a tone of hopeful certainty.

It is top-tier brands like these which are expected to shore up the fashion industry, such as the debt-free Armani group which continues on its expansion drive in Asia. Closer to home, these brands, are in fact, still committed - in a big way - to opening their flagship stores at Ion Orchard with a bang later this year. The labels that will have flagship stores there include Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, DSquared2, and Prada.

Indeed, much like the financial world, only the strongest brands will survive in this economic maelstrom. 'There'll be a shake-out for sure. And all brands will suffer, but only the strongest will survive, and they will pull through with a bigger share of the fashion market as well,' predicts Ms Marzotto. Even as businessmen and world leaders wonder just which other bank will fold tomorrow, fashionistas must be pondering just when a label's Autumn/Winter collection might be its last.

This article was first published in The Business Times.