Years ago, when unemployment was reaching tenuous states and houses were being foreclosed, attention was being paid to various inequities that had slowly encroached on the safety of the middle class. Discrimination against those who were unemployed and past a certain age range, proliferation of unpaid internships abusing the concept by failing to provide the experience expected, and salaries that have failed to rise in a decade in the face of a rising cost of living contrasted sharply with data showing the higher tiers of society receiving larger than previous salary increases and exponential wealth growth.

The Occupy Movement shouted the alarm with the threat of revolt to seek retribution for this gradual erosion of the middle class. Of course it amounted to little more than some sable rattling. While it demonstrated the power of assembly via social media, it also betrayed the cause as disorganized and without structure. It got the world’s attention but , without any goals established beyond general complaints, it failed to take advantage of the momentum and revealed the group, large as it was, had no teeth.

Be it the UK Guardian covering this topic in January or the ongoing series in the New York Times, the recent ongoing discussion is stating that the divide between the bulk of the public versus the top one per cent has surpassed Edwardian levels and that the middle class is shrinking and those we have elected into power seem to be continuing establishing and upholding policies that are keeping things this way.

The economic divide mirrors the attention to conspicuous consumption via high fashion in the 70s and 80s and in the latter half of the 90s where Merchant Ivory period dramas (and the timely “Titanic” film alluding to class fears) and anticipation of the rise of new changes, new tech and bio-influence supported interest in resuscitating Edwardian styles. That we see a continuance of this within the centenary time point as the international sensation ”Downton Abbey” revisits the opulence of this coupled with the 90s resurgence that included Edwardian elements in that decade all adds up to reinvigorated interest.

Well, the economic aspect is not welcome news for those below the upper strata, but fashion is a business and it caters to who can pay. Given the population size, there seems to be no shortage of those with the means to spend, although the chase to secure those dollars has become an international chess game, and within those ranks there is room for dressing within the luxe aspects because their environment supports participation.

So, within the fashion collections the recognition of all Edwardian was not ignored as seen amidst some of the Art Nouveau detailing in a tiered gown from Badgley Mischka; a few gowns at Vivienne Westwood; a few Gibson Girl looks at Alberta Feretti; a tiered gown from Dennis Basso; a few items such as a coat and a top with Edwardian cuts at Duro Olowu; the long coat at Christopher Kane, one with a hint of flare at Alexis Mabille, another within the cut framework but more narrow at Celine and a couple of coats with more detail at Chanel; period aspects within the closing number at Jonathan Simkhai; the cut of a sleeve at Christian Siriano; some of the ball gowns from Marchesa; a grunge hybid with layerings and silhouette hints at Maison Martin Margiela; long and lean with huge hats a la Edwardian at Lanvin; the cut of a gown with seam detail at Zac Posen or the religious undertones in the Nouveau gown at Thom Browne. Not as prominent but containing Art Nouveau’s spirit was at Brandon Sun, such as in the execution of off-shoulder layers and shine in a few gowns.

Are things as dire as back then? Well, according to Professor Mark R. Rank of Washington University, co-author of “Chasing the American Dream: Understanding What Shapes Our Fortunes”, it’s not quite that way, at least not in every country. In the United States, while more than half of all adult Americans will be at or near the poverty line at some point over the course of their lives (not a good statistic on its own), seventy-three percent will also find themselves in the top twenty percent, thirty-nine percent will inhabit the top five percent for at least one year, and a full twelve percent will be in the top one percent for at least one year of their working lives. The fluidity available offers some encouragement that the last century did not provide. Now people just need to exercise their voting power to institute change, something the Edwardians did not have as much as previously. And should the general population find its voice and power to right what it perceives as wrongs, fashion will reflect it as well as its doing now.