a fall season full of patent leather blacks and tough hardware

Forget 80s shoulder pads, a reinvention of the strong shoulder is here.
I seems like many designers including Badgley Mischka, Narciso Rodriguez and Herve Leger have created tough collections for Fall 2009, focusing on blacks and hardware.

Could this focus and inspiration be because of the hard economic times the US is experiencing?

: i do love me a strong shoulder.