While animal-friendly faux fur alternatives have increasingly appeared in more collections, the real deal was all over the recent runways. Derek Lam knit fox into a black and white cardigan, Halston’s Marios Schwab embellished the sleeves of a sweater dress and Marc Jacobs used it on the lapels of a see-thru trench. Fresh off his Swiss Textiles Award win, Alexander Wang experimented with a number of different fabrics, backing a zip-away leather jacket and criss-crossing lapels with mink. Many of these looks will show up at H&M and Forever 21 too, albeit in decidedly less expensive manifestations. The heretofore fur-free designer’s unfortunate use of pelts in his show makes sense given recent supported from Saga, but thankfully some of it won’t be produced for stores.

Leather was the most common go-to fabric for fitted, asymmetrical jackets. It was also used in more novel ways, as in the case of men’s leggings at both Maria Cornejo and Rad Hourani. To wit, Joseph Altuzarra held high-slit pencil skirts together with straps of leather, lending the pieces a vaguely S&M vibe. Threeasfour, meanwhile, paired it with wool to create a collared, almost hood-like coat and Ohne Titel’s Flora Gill and Alexa Adams coupled it with silk to fashion a chic, patchwork drawstring skirt. In addition to singular pieces, expect to see leather—both real and faux—used as embellishment or in conjunction with fabrics like wool, cashmere and twill.

Velvet’s sartorial connotations ran the gamut—little girl party dress, “festive” formal wear, hippie-chic topper—but there’s little doubt we can escape it for fall. Elise Øverland showed a velvet menswear-inspired suit and tuxedo wrap dress, while Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs fashioned a lace and velvet cap-sleeved dress for their semi-eponymous label. In keeping with his naughty schoolgirl vibe, Peter Jensen’s take was admittedly cheekier (tartan bloomers), while Zac Posen’s conjured thoughts of chi-chi late ’70s holiday parties.

Cutouts continue as a reining trend. When strategically placed they imbue basic black with some much-needed sex appeal, but not-so-gym-toned flesh might be better kept under wraps in any of the season’s other trends. Max Azria’s designs for Hervé Léger have never been a go-to for the faint of heart, so it’s little surprise that his sheer-paneled cutouts came courtesy of some killer mini-dresses. Speaking of itty bitty, Halston incorporated the technique into Grecian-style party gowns, featuring artfully exposed flesh and miles of leg. Preen offered what was perhaps the most wearable take in bandeau bra topped silk and cashmere dresses that revealed the areas above and below the décolletage—and leaving just enough to the imagination.

Although last month’s World Retail Congress in Barcelona pollinated signs of a slow economic recovery, brands are still trying to think outside of the box. Renzo Rosso, meanwhile, performed a controversial move during the Milan fair when both Diesel and Maison Martin Margiela introduced lines of items for the home, begging the question: Why expand when most brands seem to be producing less and taking safer style shots?

Part of the answer may rest in the fact that the economic situation has offered a filter for fashion brands and consumers are only pulling out their wallets for the labels that have established a solid message. With its “successful living” core value and its smart marketing actions, Diesel, for instance, developed a relationship with the consumer that has since become a valuable means of transforming the harsh scenery into an opportunity.

According to Faith Popcorn, from Brainreserve trend bureau, consumers are reverting focus back onto their homes. She believes that the decrease in spending has marked an increase in the time people stay at home, which, in turn, has evolved into über-cocooning. People are nesting and enjoying their time with digital alternatives for entertainment as well as reading, cooking and other domestic pastimes.

Thus, if home is the new Starbucks, there’s more reason to revamp it with iconic fashion brands that have always given us pleasure. After all, a Margiela chair will be useful longer than the same brand’s shirt—ditto a Diesel lamp. In both cases, Rosso was smart to perceive that people would switch from spending on ephemeral fashion to re-focus on the consistency of the home.

This kind of recessionista rationalism seems to be leading the way with ecological issues as well. During the Milan fair, Fendi also attracted the media attention with its Spazio Fendi, which gathered young designers in a “Craft Punk” performance in which they transformed materials and processes in live demonstrations. Scraps of discarded leather from Fendi’s factories became tabletops, for example, while folding techniques from fashion were used in paper chairs.

Indeed, the marriage of fashion and furniture is not a new pairing, but these days it seems like a positive alternative for major brands. In fact, Armani is also successfully doing it, as is Missoni and Ralph Lauren—the latter even sells wall paint with its exclusive colors. Of the bunch, Armani is a true vet, having begun investing in interior design products almost a decade before the current economic crisis. And unsurprisingly, the brand is sticking to its aggressive expansion program, which recently opened its 80th Armani Casa store in a Dubai mall and has plans for more openings in Jakarta and Manama, Bahrain.

The ability to transfer a brand’s identity to home objects is also relevant for fast-fashion companies. Following Zara’s suit, H&M launched a home line last February. For H&M Home’s Maria Lindblon, this concept is valuable because it “uses H&M’s expertise in fashion and applies it to the house.”

No matter where the economy goes from here, we can always fall back on the sanctuary of home.

—Flávia Mendonça