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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.

And as the following four trends move from the runway to the mall, they have the potential to present the biggest challenges.

CHICAGO — Not so long ago, when you looked up “green” in the dictionary, there was a brief definition about color or pigment. Today, it’s difficult to read or hear the word “green” without also thinking of the environment, of conservation, of sustainability. And your customers are thinking about it, too.

Interest in Green Services on Rise

Wherever you stand on running a green business, it’s worth noting that some of the latest research shows that consumers are just as interested in patronizing green services such as drycleaners as they are about purchasing green products.

Mintel, a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence, reports that consumer interest in green services doubled from 2008 to 2010. Thirty-four percent of consumers say they take into account the “greenness” of their drycleaner, compared to just 12% in 2008.

CHICAGO — While the vast majority of women enjoy shopping for clothes, according to a new study from the Chicago offices of the global market-research firm Mintel, they increasingly avoid garments that have to be drycleaned.

Some 87% of women have gone clothes-shopping for themselves in the past year, the study says, and 84% made a purchase. But three out of four women who shop (75%) say they avoid items that require professional care.

LOOK #1: HEAD-TO-TOE KNIT

Cozy knits are a natural fit for fall, but designers outdid themselves this year by dressing runway models head-to-toe in knit headbands, fisherman’s sweaters, cable-knit skirts, and clingy knit pants and leggings.

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’

CHICAGO — Analyst statements that the recession may be leveling off aren’t holding true in the drycleaning industry, as sales and piececounts continue to show declines in the month of April, according to a recent AmericanDrycleaner.com StatShot survey.

Haute couture runways in Milan, New York and Paris reveal the challenges that lie ahead for drycleaners in American Drycleaner’s biggest fashion preview ever.

LACE

Once reserved for prudish Victorian and funereal fashions, lace was essential to this year’s sexy see-through styles, with peek-a-boo patterns adding to the look’s updated oomph.

Six of the season's most popular looks — any of which could present problems on your plant's production floor.

Armor

Structured, military-inspired garments in cuts from Roman to Revolutionary marched down the catwalk this year atop the season’s ubiquitous skinny leg. Traditional fibers belie lots of bows, buttons and belts, though — and decorations worthy of a war hero.