news bulletin – answers

Recession hits fashion world

questions

1. What was the fashion show attempting to do? lighten the economic gloom
2. What are many fashion houses trying to do? buck the economic trend (to buck a trend to be different from everyone else)
3. How does the reporter describe Italy’s fashion industry? one of the most important in the world
4. What is expected this year? a fall in turnover
5. What are customers doing? tightening their non-designer belts (to tighten one’s belt – spend less)
6. How is caution evident in the designs? less embellishment and adornment
7. How did some brands cut costs? by axing their runway shows (catwalk fashion shows)
8. How are designers hoping to beat the credit crunch? by keeping their fingers crossed
9. What was their greatest fear? that the Americans wouldn’t come to buy in Italy
10. Which decade has been revived? the 1980s
11. What normally happens in an economic downturn in fashion? hem-lines drop
12. Where are hem-lines this year? mid-thigh