>> With most pre-collections, hints of what to come from the designer are there, but with Nicholas Ghesquiere, it's especially prevalent — the woven leather gladiator boots and a black-and-white floral print hit Resort 2008 before going full-fledged in the Spring 2008 Balenciaga collection, and very similar black-and-white dresses appeared in the Pre-Fall 2008 collection before hitting the runway for Fall 2008.  Ghesquiere confirmed yesterday that the new Pre-Fall 2009 collection was a good indication of the direction he was talking for Fall 2009, but for now, we can only guess on which elements will reappear: the zip skirts?  The slouchy pencil pants?  The fur mittens?
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>> The economy doesn't seem to have touched Louis Vuitton or Chanel one bit.  While some major American designers are cutting back their advertising and looking at runway alternatives, Vuitton is keeping their Spring 2009 media placement and ad budget on par with one year ago — a budget analysts have estimated to be more than $250 million annually.

And Chanel?  Well, Karl just staged a full runway show — plus movie — for a Pre-Fall collection, when most designers do a presentation at most.  Chanel's pre-Fall — in this case, Paris-Moscow — collection was established to showcase the skills of the house's couture ateliers, so the extravagance goes without saying.  The dresses may be expensive, but Karl waved off any mention of the economy: "These dresses come out in six or seven months from now, and the world may have changed by then."  And the annual tradition which has carried through Paris, New York, Tokyo, Monte Carlo, London, and this year Moscow will continue on next year in another emerging market: Shanghai.
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