With the closing of Fashion Weeks from New York to Hong Kong in late January and early February, a note of panic may have set in among the fashion conscious. It’s not even March, and the Fall/Winter 2008 collections have already graced the runways, draped over lanky and moody mannequins.

So what to do? Keep the trends in mind, but don’t forget the Spring/Summer 2008 looks that hit the style scene in October, which in the fashion industry seems like a millennium.

The spring collections saw some definite nods to the 1970s: flared hemlines, high waists and disco chic were everywhere. Giorgio Armani embraced his inner flower child when he sent his models down the catwalk swathed in macram’eacute;, floor-dusting skirts and enough fringe to put Woodstock to shame.

At Prada, silk bell-bottoms swung on the legs of a few girls, while others wore pajama-like silk tunics and cropped trousers covered in dreamy drawings of fairies and nymph-like creatures. The flowy, dreamy atmosphere created by Prada was a far cry from the more severe silhouettes and toxic color palette of last fall.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana turned back time to 1979 at D’G, and not only because the models sauntered down the runway to Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” Siri Tollerød opened the show wearing a ruffled, A-line mini dress with gold detail, and it didn’t stop there. Belted waists, denim flares and vests, and (naturally) fringe, were ubiquitous in D’G’s Spring 2008 show. Donna Karan must have had the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever” on in the background when designing her collection for DKNY. As a matter of fact, the soundtrack for the show consisted of Feist’s cover of the Bee Gee’s “Inside and Out.” Floppy hats and a crisp white tuxedo were the most obvious inspirations.

On the other end of the style spectrum, trends for Spring 2008 also moved toward the tennis courts. In a more literal translation, models at Chanel slung racquets over their shoulders with one hand and held tennis balls monogrammed with the house’s interlocked C’s in the other. Clothing consisted of knit and ribbed sweaters in primary colors.

The sisters Mulleavy at Rodarte also drew inspiration from the courts for their spring collection, but their girl was more of spectator than a player; and large, wide-brimmed hats and sunburst-pleated skirts graced the catwalk. At Lacoste, of course, sporty styles come with the territory, and probably the only sportswear one would actually want to play tennis in. Modest but sporty dresses, visors and the signature polo were practical, yet worthy of being given their own trend.

Michael Kors, the king of American sportswear, never fails to live up to his title. Spring ’08 was no different. Drawing from the women of the late ’70s and early ’80s, Kors commented, “There was something about those women; they were very sexy but sporty at the same time.”

Summertime and the Hamptons are brought to mind when looking at the cardigans, khakis and sporty dresses that Kors’s models wore.

If sports and disco aren’t enough to satiate the trend-crazy, transparency has also rocked the runways for the spring. “Underwear as outerwear” has become one of the mantras of the season, and Marc Jacobs, despite his two-hour delay and 11 p.m. show start, sent out a quirky collection of ‘there but not there’ pieces. Fabrics were sheer (or sometimes completely transparent), hinting at a glimpse of underwear beneath, and some trompe l’oeil pieces gave the illusion of bras and panties over clothing.

Perhaps the most deliberate tribute to the body’s form was in Maison Martin Margiela’s pieces. Skintight bandeau dress in nude tones clung to the torsos of blindfolded models, giving anonymity to the face and more focus on the body’s shape. Black strips of fabric across the bust and at hemlines created the illusion of revealing tube tops and scandalous bottoms but with all the modesty of a mini dress.

At Jil Sander, fabrics were of soft and floaty chiffon, in some cases leaving little to be desired beneath them. Many of the girls wore completely sheer pieces of chiffon over chic pantsuits or skirts, like a see-through cocoon while others simply wore colorful pieces of the fabrics as a top.

Spring/Summer 2008 was one of the most innovative seasons yet, and many designers dared to push the limits of what is considered ordinary. While runway looks can be extremely difficult to carry off in the real world, it’s important to remember that the runway is fantasy, and looks can be translated but not necessarily taken literally. There aren’t many people who can walk through the streets in a sheer top, or draped from head to toe in fringe, but hey, more power to them if they can.

In the meantime, for those who don’t feel gutsy enough to rock a white three-piece suit on the street, let high fashion serve as an inspirational guideline for new trends.

Emma Lifvergren can be reached at [email protected]