A difficult industry to break into and to survive in even in the best economy, the fashion industry has only become all the more challenging with the economic crisis. Financing is increasingly harder to find and investors are leaving young labels – just think Obedient Sons and Daughters. Sharing showrooms and patternmakers, using fabric left over from past collections and focusing on small brand-building efforts like trunk shows and blogs are just some of the ways that young designers are cutting down on costs. Of course, there are still the lucky few that have sponsors covering the costs of their shows. This season, the list of sponsors got creative: Generic breath mints, Evian water, York Peppermint Patties and Chambord will all be seen in the tents. Even McDonalds has decided to throw its hat into the ring by sponsoring Duckie Brown’s show. In exchange, the brand has agreed to promote McCafe coffee products backstage. [times]

The tents at New York Fashion Week have become the way in which young designers gage whether or not they have made it in the industry. With this season set to kick off exactly one week from today, it will be interesting to see whose dreams come true.