Reflections

NEW YORK — A year ago, the third day of the spring runway shows here was just getting under way in Bryant Park when two planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers, just a few miles away.

In the minutes leading up to their ultimate collapse, no one quite understood the complex and devastating impact that the terrorist attacks would have on the city’s collective psyche, its prospects, people and industries. The fashion business was hard hit, not only here, but also globally, marked by store closings, bankruptcies, layoffs and an end to what had only recently seemed like an insatiable appetite for luxury goods.