Some fashions are like zombies: they just refuse to die. In all good horror films, the zombie will be shot down, battered over the head, and buried six feet under. Then it rises from the dead, ready to make you the next victim.

The cover of the new issue of Vogue features something back from the grave. No, not a zombie, but a model in a flesh-coloured dress made of lace. Lace? The ultimate in fuddy-duddy, “wouldn’t be seen dead in”, fabric. And it’s not the only “never again” style that’s back on the catwalks and in the shops as the new season’s stock arrives.

Leather trousers are all the rage after years in the fashion wilderness, and bootcuts are back – to the delight of women for whom skinny jeans were impossible.

Some “new” trends for autumn/winter 2008 have barely been away – leggings have been poking out under dresses for about two years now – and some were never that fashionable in the first place. Pashminas were a Sloane Ranger staple long before and after their moment in the fashion limelight.

Is this just fashion’s circle turning? Or is the global credit crunch allowing us to dig out style from the back of the wardrobe?

For those old enough to remember leather and lace from last time around (or the time before that), it’s time to welcome them back.

Pashminas

Rarely will you see a Sloane Ranger (or a political wife) without her ‘poshmina’. This, despite ‘Vogue’ saying in 1999 that they were over. ‘A pashmina is not fashionable,’ agrees Stefan Lindemann of ‘Grazia’. ‘It’s a staple. But a Sloane pashmina has fringes. A cashmere wrap does not. And keep the colours neutral.’ Cameron Diaz gets it right.

Lace

It was favoured as edging on Laura Ashley-style flowery dresses in the Eighties, and was kicked out of the way by power dressing; was reinvented by Madonna; refused to be pigeon-holed as wedding-dress material/goth staple/granny favourite. Lace. It’s resilient. It’s back (again). It will not disappear, says Jo Ellison, features editor at ‘Vogue’, so get used to it. ‘Lace will never die because its uses are so multifarious,’ she says. ‘It’s an incredibly versatile fabric. It can look punky, powerful, profane or poetic, depending on how you wear it.’ Wear it we will, because designer powerhouse Miuccia Prada has decreed it the fabric of the moment, as worn by Tilda Swinton.

Leggings

Looking back at ’80s photographs of Princess Diana, it’s easy to laugh. But Emma Jones of Missoni – which has reintroduced leggings for this season – says: ‘They’ve become a staple. Because leggings cut off at the ankle, the thinnest part, that’s very flattering for the leg.’ The actress Lindsay Lohan has her own leggings line.

Fringe

Kate Moss’s fringe was a short-lived trend. Now that models Agyness Deyn and Petra Nemcova both have newly cut ones, it’s time to ask why. Nicola Clarke at John Frieda says: ‘Find a good hairdresser who will suggest a suitable fringe that will complement your face shape.’ In other words, don’t ask them to copy a picture of a supermodel.

Leather

Apparently, Blake Lively, hottest US actress of the moment, will be wearing leather trousers in the next series of ‘Gossip Girl’, which means all sorts of women will be wearing them soon too. Designers have always liked leather, says Sarah Harris, fashion features writer at ‘Vogue’, though they ‘definitely went through a bad patch in the Eighties and early Nineties; they were hard, crunchy and terribly uncomfortable, but Chanel and Versace adored them because they empowered.’ Favoured by Cilla Black, above, for 2008, they’ve evolved, as seen on the Alexander Wang catwalk. ‘Think liquorice legs,’ says Harris. ‘They have to be spray-on tight and you have to be reed thin’.

In non-Western cultures, rugs are highly valued works of art. In some communities, rugs maintain a similar status to that of paintings in Wwestern culture.

Various styles of rugs are made in Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, China, India and Persia (Iran). While rug production experienced its greatest flourishing from the 15th through 17th centuries, rugs are often named for the area in which they are produced or for the ethnic group of their maker.

During the 16th century, Dutch, Italian and Portuguese merchants exported rugs. Europeans viewed rugs as luxury items and displayed them on chests and tables, as well as underfoot. Many collectors commissioned rugs with special features, such as their family coat of arms or personal symbols. By the late 19th century, Orientalism, the predominant interior design trend, had reached America and prompted rug collecting.
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While oriental rugs were officially introduced to Americans at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia, political concerns on the international stage have impacted the rug market since around 1990.

Persian Rugs

Persian rugs are arguably among some of the most exquisite textiles in the world. During the Safavid Dynasty (1502-1736), Persia experienced a great flourishing in rug production at court workshops. Artisans were inspired by book illumination in the creation of medallion rugs.Mmotifs from paintings, such as animals, figures and landscapes found, their way into rug designs. Persians had the highest and most diverse numbers of weaving groups. They offered diverse styles and are known for their curvilinear and fluid floral motifs, with blues and reds dominating the palette. Herat rugs are among the most well-known style, featuring a central medallion on a wine-red field with a green border.

Anatolian (Turkey) Rugs

During the 16th century, Persian rugs designs influenced the artisans of Anatolia and India. Anatolians borrowed motifs and created bold designs featuring florals and geometry with polygon stars in red, blue and yellow. Rugs from India featured plant motifs - including lattice designs, millefleur or tiny clustered flowers - and vine motifs. Some of these rugs were made of Pashmina (Persian for wool), or from wool/goat hair.

Creation and Identification of Rugs

Rugs are woven on a loom on with a warp of yarns placed lengthwise and a weft of yarns placed widthwise. The foundation can be made of cotton, woo, or silk. One method of rug making, known as the knotted rug, involves knotting yarns onto the warp yarns. These knots are kept in place by the weft yarns. Several types of knots are used depending on the maker of the rug, and the number of knots can range from five to 2,000 knots per square inch. Piles can be made of silk or wool from sheep, goats or camels. Vegetable and animal dyes were used for antique rugs as well as contemporary rugs.

They originated in Roman times and were the favourite neckwear of emperors and commoners. Today, scarves come in a variety of colours and shapes and can be worn in an equally eclectic manner of ways.

However, scarves are not as popular here as in the West - but are slowly getting there, both as a necessity and as a style statement.

The reasons for this are not hard to find: scarves can be teamed up with almost any kind of attire, be it Indian or Western.

Scarves have a name and face in the West with designer brands like Hermes having an exclusive range of silk scarves that are a great hit with Hollywood actors as well as common folk.

In India, the scarf is still considered an accessory and not many designers experiment with it in terms of style and design.

Despite this, the markets in most Indian cities are flooded with cotton and chiffon scarves in various shapes like square, rectangular or triangular and in different prints like floral, polka dots and zigzag lines.

Some shops - only in five-star hotels - also stock silk, Pashmina and faux fur scarves too.

Prices vary from a mere Rs10 to a few thousand rupees for the upper end ones.

Evidence of the growing popularity of scarves can be gauged from the varied manner in which they are used - around the neck, on handbags, as a belt, tied at the wrist, and even as a bandanna.

It is all about how original and experimental you want to be.

To this end, designer Raghavendra Rathore had created somewhat of a flutter when he prominently featured scarves as part of his Polo collection at the autumn-winter edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) in March.

At the same time, he feels it will be a while before scarves attain the popularity of say, accessories like bangles, belts and bags.

“Personally, I believe that scarves are worn only as a style statement but practically, it is not a necessity,” Rathore added.

Designer Rina Dhaka vehemently disagreed, saying scarves were slowly replacing the sometimes-hard-to-manage dupattas that are worn with salwaar suits.

“The dupatta is an essential requirement, whereas the scarf is its modernized avatar,” Dhaka explained.

“So, why not go for something that makes you look chic and trendy?” she chuckled.

According to Dhaka, “scarves came into prominence reorganization after men started wearing it as cravat.

“Now, more and more women are using scarves because it gives them the freedom to experiment with it,” she added.

Then, scarves also serve another purpose for women who like to wear low necklines but need to cover up if the occasion so demands.

“Sometimes I need to venture into conservatives areas. With low necklines in fashion, I team this with a scarf and it works for me,” Dhaka commented.

“One needs to have the flair to come up with completely innovative ways of using a scarf as an accessory,” said Swati Mehta, who works for a foreign bank.

“I love to wear a scarf around my waist as a belt. It is comfortable and trendy,” added management student Milisha Nigam.