I agree with you, but as a high school student in suburban Canada, 95% of my classmates consider fashion to be jeans and polos from American Eagle. And as a store aimed for the younger crowd, I think by going from their last collection to satin high-waisted overalls in the matter of a season is too much too fast, and instead of intruiging shoppers to try something less conservative, it'll just overwhelm them. If they tried to lose the conservative pieces more gradually, I think they'd be much more successful.
Love the red coat, though. It's a shame I already have one.