The Crowd:

Whenever I attend a fashion show and begin to gaze at the models and not at the clothing, thinking that the entire parade is a conspiracy meant only to entice fashion victims into the stores or online to buy the seasonal “must haves,� I stop and think of a line from “The Devil Wears Prada.�

The young assistant is being grilled by her boss over the significance of her rather ordinary blue sweater.

The assistant discards the inquiry as frivolous until her boss describes the impact her blue sweater had on the worldwide market and thus the economy when hundreds of thousands of girls bought that blue sweater several seasons ago.

Fashion is one of America’s, and the world’s, most important industries. It is also, on some level, art.

Further, it is an expression of “the culture,� a tangible reflection of who we are as a society and what we are thinking and doing at the moment. Fashion isn’t frivolous; it’s serious business.

Last week in Newport Beach at Neiman Marcus, Fashion Island, the extremely fashionable (she lives and breathes fashion) Michaele Hall, representing her internationally acclaimed boss, Ken Downing, fashion director for the luxury retailer, threw a little fashion show for breakfast.

Hall invited a few insiders, served morning nibbles, lined up the Chiavari chairs and narrated a show of spring trends as selected by Downing to represent what is “haute.�

Hall loves clothes so much she exploded with excitement as each of three gorgeous models displayed the goods. And what a display it is.

The look for spring 2010 is sexy, feminine yet contemporary, and just wild enough to turn a few heads.

Short shorts, short skirts, short dresses draped off the shoulders, backless and revealing, skinny skin-tight pants and high heels that are the foundations of skyscrapers will bring “wows� on the social circuit.

Designers are calling the shoes “nude� because they come in neutral tones that will not fight with the clothes, or with themselves (the designs are dramatic) for that matter.

Trends for spring 2010 include the remake of the “tribal look.� Lots of animal and geometric prints.

Denim dressing is chic with tailored-looking skirts, jackets, pants and even shoes hitting the runway.

Denim is paired with “the great white shirt� with cuts and looks to take well-dressed women from the office to the cocktail party.

And the color for the season: blue. All shades of blue, from periwinkle to powder to royal to aqua to navy and every shade in between.

Design standouts included contributions from Chanel, Pucci, Michael Kors, Kay Unger, Lafayette, Oscar de la Renta, Roberto Cavalli and Jean Paul Gaultier showcased by an exquisite “tribal� tulle embroidered caftan worn over skinny white pants and 5-inch heels.

“Perfect for the season,� Hall said.

Finishing off the trends: arm candy, otherwise known as bracelets, lots and lots of them from wrist to elbow.

“Buy a few new selections, and then go through your drawers to mix and match colors, metals, styles,� Hall said. “It all goes this season.�

You’ve got to love it “when it all goes.�

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.