Editors, buyers, fashionistas and style bloggers everywhere held their breaths last Friday as New York Fashion Week began, and nobody knew quite what to expect during this gloomy, economic plague…

In merrier times, fashion shows provided a temporary escape from reality, and in those mirthful times, designers showed no sign of restraint, demonstrating excess on the runways. Sometimes it wasn’t always about the clothes: who was sitting front row? How late did the show start? How over-the-top was the presentation? Who was invited to the after-party and where was it going to be held? The gut-wretchingly expensive handbags that design houses were churning out pulled in the big bucks, and for what seemed like decades, the clothes just accented the accessories.

But as the shows began last Friday, February 13, fashion became about clothing again. New designers (Davidelfin, Julian Louie, Bibhu Mohapatra, to name a few) and seasoned veterans of NYFW all delivered exceptionally beautiful and wearable (gasp!) pieces for Fall 2009. Even showmasters Zac Posen and Anna Sui kept runway shock value to a minimum. After parties were nearly nonexistent (but leave it to Erin Wasson to rowdy up a crowd with jello shots and a mechanical bull…). And the only “celebrity” that was anticipated to turn up sitting front row wasn’t a Gossip Girl–you might know her as our current First Lady.

This season would be particularly tricky especially now that the luxury market has not escaped the grasp of the recession, and many designers did not deviate too far from the major trends prevalent from Spring 2009. Some exercised a feminine yet macabre mood, others went for a bad-ass spin, incorporating lots of leather and black.

Just a quick overview of the trends across the board:

Individual images via style.com

Individual images via style.com

Individual images via style.com

Individual images via style.com

Individual images via style.com

Individual images via style.com

Finally, the aura of coherence transcending through the designers that presented during NY Fashion Week has resurfaced. Who knew that monetary despairs and employment instability might have actually put the fashion industry back on its previously-misguided tracks, and letting the clothes finally sell, and stand for themselves?