Content about Chris Allsbrooks

CHICAGO — Runways in the world’s fashion capitals came alive for 2011’s fall season, as if to herald an end to recessionary reserve and embrace edgy elegance again.

Ultra-bright colors, extreme ruffles and riotous patterns starred in over-the-top productions featuring post-apocalyptic landscapes, manacled models and psychedelic toadstools. Only minutes elapsed between many of the designer duds’ debuts and the time they hit the streets, knocked off for the mass market under many more-affordable labels.

Some of the season’s styles—the classically tailored mid-century modern and menswear-inspired looks, for example—shouldn’t present professional dry cleaners with problems if they remember to read their care labels and steady their skill sets. But others may have the most seasoned operators at a loss for a cleaning strategy, or at risk for a claim.

Four new trends could present the biggest challenges as they move from the runway to the mall.

LOOK #3: LACE & LEATHER

Another strong year for sheers saw lots of gauzy peek-a-boo fabrics lend an airy dimension to all kinds of garments. Designers used lace wherever and whenever they could, under and over silks, woolens and leathers—often bonding the most delicate materials to the toughest.

GREENBELT, Md. — ZIPS Dry Cleaners, a franchise with 26 East Coast locations, announced a new partnership with Hot Dish Advertising, an advertising agency specializing in the franchise industry.

While the six “Styles of The Season” spotlighted in American Drycleaner and at AmericanDrycleaner.com will pose problems in the weeks and months ahead, there’s another recurring look that drycleaners dread: Sparkle.

There are always challenges for drycleaners who try to clean couture garments and their off-the-rack imitations, but for the most part, the styles coming off the runways this fall tended toward the conservative, our annual Fashion & Fabricare issue reports — perhaps due to recession.

We take a look at the runways of Milan, New York and Paris to find the constructions and styles that will challenge drycleaners in the months to come.

‘1940s’

When it comes to hard-to-process clothing, you can hardly beat the runway shows. And with trends moving downmarket faster than ever, most drycleaners can expect some of couture’s worst processing problems in their plants by the end of the holiday season — including fringe, fur and other textures, as well as bold, bright (and bleeding) colors. The following are six styles to watch out for.