BCBG Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Spring 2011 The Tents at Lincoln Center September 10, 2010 Written by Mark Tauriello Photographed by Cindy Ord

BCBG MAXAZRIA is letting lose for Spring and Summer 2011 with sexy youthful looks and flirty layers. Simplicity and comfort seems to be the fashion industry's way of dealing with the recession. Instead of designing clothing that would sell at more affordable prices, designers like Azria are going back to a more classic, refined, and natural look with hopes of boosting sales. With massive amounts of unemployment, pay cuts, and lay offs, it is no wonder why people are heading back to aesthetics that reflect a less economically frightening time in America. On a more positive spin, the entire collection consisted of dresses. Keeping up with the natural look, many of the fabrics featured neutral colors and slight blocks of color. Most interesting was the beige mini dress with the blocky gold top piece, creating a unique color combination and the illusion of a higher waistline. Apparently Azria didn't want to use "skinny" models for this collection, however the models still looked quite unrealistically slender. How about some size 8 + women for a more "natural" look?