Alisha Trimble sits at her kitchen table holding a long swath of amethyst-colored chiffon. Pinning a piece of fuschia silk underneath it, she sews a ruffle into the purple and pink cloths, stopping only for the occasional sip from her coffee cup.

The skirt she is making is an avant-garde concoction, all flounces and bright colors and different fabrics and various shapes, and a staple in her fall 2009 line “New Money.” People were skeptical when Trimble first announced that she was creating something so flamboyant in this rough economy.

“Everyone was really freaking out when I started working on that collection,” she said of the line, which is inspired by Vanna White and features sequins and jewel tones. “I wanted to give people a tool so that they could see their way out of [the recession].”

Trimble is one of a group of Williamsburg-based fashion designers who have made money despite a recession that has been devastating to most couturiers. Versace CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris predicted pre-tax losses of $44.4 million in 2009 for the Italian fashion house, compared to $11.1 million just a year ago. Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen have closed boutiques in Russia and Japan this year; Versace pulled out of Japan entirely. Chanel cut 10 percent of its factory workforce last December.

Expecting that shy spenders would rather purchase staple items, a number of these top-tier designers showcased fall 2009 collections that were safe, with neutral colors and basic shapes. But the edgier designers in Williamsburg offer vivid hues and sculptured structures—art in clothing form. That ingenuity appealed to Brooklyn Fashion Festival organizer Xing Xu as she selected designers for the mid-September show.

“Our designers are very innovative and fresh, and they’re trying new things,” Xu said. “They’re people being creative.”

Arthur Arbit, organizer of the Williamsburg Fashion Week(end), also held in September, said that the recession has encouraged designers to push boundaries with their clothes. “Artists in general assert their existence and vitality through strongly individualistic output,” Arbit said. “The harder the ‘powers that be’ push the individual down, the harder a strong individual must push back to survive. That’s why in a recession, artistic output is extreme.”

Many of these art-minded Williamsburg designers have found that New Yorkers are gravitating towards these one-of-a-kind pieces as a respite from the drab gloom of the recession. “Luckily for us, people still seem to be spending money from time to time on very special purchases,” Carissa Ackerman, the designer at Mandate of Heaven, said. “In fact, some people are spending less money on more disposable items, leaving them a little bit more cash for businesses like ours.”

Trimble said that most of her clients are young women looking for a dress for an important event. “I get a lot of younger women who get married and want something you could wear again.”

Alexandra Adame, who owns The Dressing Room boutique in the Lower East Side, where Trimble showcases her work, added that Trimble's customers “want something no one else has.”

Alyssa Zeller ordered a custom-made dress from Trimble for her November wedding after falling in love with a white Alisha Trimble dress on a mannequin in The Dressing Room. She said that she didn’t want a typical wedding dress. Trimble “has this way of combining a feminine with a slight masculine twist, like tuxedo details: pleating that is reminiscent of a cummerbund and bows representative of a bowtie,” Zeller said of her wedding dress’s unique design. “The black trim on the white fabric was really dynamic.”

Price was another factor in Zeller’s decision to work with Trimble. Though Zeller—who works from home as a toy designer and plans to buy $725 Christian Louboutin glitter heels to top off her wedding ensemble—said her shopping habits have not changed during the recession, she still wanted a good deal on her wedding dress. At $600, Trimble’s dress costs a fraction of what many other boutiques charge for a custom gown. “I am not spending $2,000 on my wedding dress,” Zeller said. “I didn’t want it to be a crazy big expensive affair.”

Although Trimble’s clothes are lower-priced than many custom designers, they are still expensive. A pair of sequined nude leggings costs $425. A purple and pink-tiered skirt costs $250. A “Sweepstakes” dress from Trimble’s “New Money” collection costs $650. A sapphire blue sweetheart dress with a wide belt made of gold studs in the shape of a gemstone, the “Sweepstakes” dress exemplifies Trimble’s brand of avant-garde. Sequined dollar signs decorate the right and left side of the belt. The dress is daring—a far cry from the grays and beiges and thousand-dollar dresses among more established designers on Fifth Avenue.

Trimble’s own clothing style reflects none of the flamboyance of her designs; it is more akin to the muted couture of her mainstream colleagues. She wears a simple taupe-colored dress and no make up. Her short dark brown hair is messily arranged in a loose ponytail. She speaks delicately and lets her work make the bold statements.

Her adventurous designs have led to success. Trimble estimates that she earns about $24,000 yearly from her eponymous fashion line, half of which is a direct profit, largely because her work costs almost nothing to produce. She makes everything herself in the kitchen and den of her Williamsburg apartment, and finds her material in the scraps of fabric discarded by other designers or fabric factories.

Trimble said she’s been lucky to find those sources, but also resourceful. “I think I’ve saved thousands of dollars from doing that and that’s where you see the difference between someone who is able to make a profit and someone who isn’t.”

With so few costs, she has managed to turn a profit, even in the toughest of times. “I think a lot of people want to feel like they have something luxurious, especially when times are rough. They want to feel good about themselves and celebrate whatever good is coming in their lives,” she said. “I stayed true to what makes me happy, just feeling pretty and being festive. That’s how I’ve really managed to succeed in the economy these days.”

And her future does look bright. Trimble has a three-event partnership with celebrity hair stylist Nick Arrojo, which included a presentation of her “New Money” line and a “Girls Night Out,” with makeovers and blow-drying lessons at Arrojo’s SoHo salon this November. She also plans to open a temporary shop in the salon in early December. “People will always have the need to feel extravagant, especially in the holidays,” she said.

Trimble also has a budding partnership with fellow artsy Williamsburg designers Love Brigade. She plans to collaborate with them on a special line sold only in the Love Brigade store.

Despite the naysayers, Trimble’s decision to design with art in mind has generated successes she never expected. So while the current season looks gray for many high fashion couturiers, Trimble—and other avant-garde designers in Williamsburg—see only green.

“I think a lot of designers are trying to be safe right now. I went against that,” Trimble said. “So while other people are playing it safe, I feel hopeful about the future.”