It's been said that this season's Missoni collection was inspired by 'The Women', a 1939 film about New York socialites. The film, a boyfriend's Bryant Park nightmare, is cast entirely of women who manipulate and gossip within fancy New York apartments. As for the film's wardrobe, the outfits are sophisticated and conservative, what one should expect from the relative time period and economic vantage point. They are indeed striking but the film so clearly has a greater message to send. Namely, one that articulates the intricacies of social and economic power from a domestic perspective. What's interesting is how Style.com's Sarah Mower, without reference to the inspiration, attributes Missoni's 'grown up note' to a cognizance that the consistent luxury consumer (one who, perhaps, doesn't even have Levi's in her closet) is least likely to be effected by a recession. The question is, which came first? A cinematic inspiration that happens to call for a more conservative, high-end aesthetic, or the straight-up strategy to appeal to the consumer most stable in a time of economic hardship?

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