In the midst of the worst economic climate in decades, with consumers in revolt, it was almost a relief that Ms. Ullman did not shy away from a bit of a roast. It would have been disingenuous to declare anyone a real winner this year, though awards were handed out for best designers in several categories during what felt, at times, more like a pep rally than a glamorous event.

When Proenza Schouler introduced round sunglasses in spring 2008, the designers were actually so far ahead of the trend that they were at a disadvantage. Circular frames are not face-friendly, Ms. McCabe said, and usually look best on women with strong jaw lines, so the line’s initial styles were difficult to sell. But newer versions, which are slightly larger and more angular, with the stems positioned higher on the frame, have been a success. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the designers of the label, said in an e-mail message that they had been bored with the prevailing Wayfarer look and that, while looking at images of midcentury factory workers in goggles, “something about the simplicity of that shape against the face turned us on.”

So much about the Topshop phenomenon—the mania is new to Manhattan but well established in England—is predicated on the company’s ability to cast itself as less a store than a service station for style, with its own spokesmodel, the Kate Moss Factory for Fast Fashion. You walk in with your clunky old boot-cut parts and, presto, replace them with shiny, skinny new ones that will make you look cool. It can be a bewildering place for anyone not yet accustomed to the modern culture of constant updating — iPods and Facebook pages and, of course, clothes — so Topshop has, among its sales staff, an elite team of employees called style advisers who are there to help. Their mission is to spread the gospel of mixing orange with pink.