In yesterday’s Reuters article about Fashion Week trend forecasts, Max Azria suggested designing for a crappy economy was important:

"Social climate has an impact on how we design because we design for the lifestyle of a woman. If her lifestyle changes, then our collection has to change to reflect that," said Max Azria, who is hosting three different runway shows.

We thought we could see this in his BCBG show yesterday, which was all about muted earth tones and cuts that, while complex, didn’t really scream “look at me.” Tyson Beckford agreed with us, rating the clothes a five on a sexy scale of one to ten.

But when we caught Azria backstage, he changed his accented tune. “Zee economy’s fantastic! I’m going to talk differently,” the designer said. His face shining with postshow glee, he was the picture of positivity. “We have to keep optimism. How can you wake up negatif? You wake up optimism and the day will be optimeest. Zee economy will be wonderful. Don’t scare!”

He added he’s ready for his Sunday Hervé Léger show, a.k.a. the basket in which he put all his sexy eggs. “That’s very much sexy, yes!” he confirmed. —Amy Odell