Skeptical? I was too. Because how can Fashion Trends possibly indicate a recession? It's almost as alien as trying to find a credible link between universal healthcare and America - it doesn't exist. And yet, economists, fashion historians, and curious cultural observers have noticed strange, stylish patterns that seem to sync up with the economy. From skirt lengths to men's underwear, these curious fashion clues suggest our wardrobes may be tracking the economy more closely

From the forced modesty of the saree to the Western repackaging of jhumkas, colonialism never left South Asian fashion—it just changed shape. Today, these colonial aftershocks are evident in both the internalised norms within South Asian fashion and the external erasure, exploitation and appropriation of its elements across a global fashion industry.