Byline: Kenya Hunt

For Print Use Only.

Legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld once famously declared sweatpants "a sign of defeat." By that standard, a year into covid-19, we've all surrendered. Fashion inspires those who wear it or simply look at it. But it's hard to motivate people to rise to the occasion when there are no longer any occasions to rise to.

So as the pandemic rages on, fashion's most influential designers and labels are stuck balancing between meeting consumers where they are and offering hopes of more exciting days to come.

Fashion editors have long extolled the virtues of dressing to lift one's mood, of course. And in the past year, fashion has done its part to help us forget about reality when we need to. The pre-Regency dresses in "Bridgerton," line-for-line re-creation of Lady Diana's wardrobe on "The Crown" or the Tiger King's outrageously out-there animal prints have all provided welcome distraction from our troubled times.

Yet, the vast majority of us don't seem to be dressing up much at home. Instead, it's the most comforting and practical pieces we turn to again and again in a world that has never been more changeable. Fashion has always been a way to express who we are and define how we want to be regarded in the world....