Modern Vintage Sighting: The Jazz Age in Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2011

In honor of the fact that sales this month will be supporting the New Orleans-based Tipitina's Foundation, I thought I'd step away from the '70s revival for a bit and take a look at another vintage revival, one that's also already been popping up in 2012 collections: the return of the Jazz Age.

It's not unusual for 1920s-inspired looks to appear time and again on runways, just think Chanel. But collections from this year and for next have been especially literal in their interpretations. I mean, in Milan the Tod's models even walked the runways to recordings from the 1920s.

The prevalence of jazz era looks and the more literal interpretation is hard to miss, and it's just as hard to chalk it up to general nostalgia and an aesthetic reference while overlooking the economic implications. This was, after all, the age in which big business and questionable banking practices led to the Great Depression. With the protests on Wall Street and across the world, this is undoubtedly fashion's comment on these turbulent times.

Here are some snippets from the Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2011 collection, which seems now to be a sign of what was to come on the 2012 runways. Look for more collections inspired by the Jazz Age throughout the week, including those just shown in Milan.