KEY POINTS:
Some might call it denial, considering the state of the economy, but the word du jour to describe the mood on the Milan catwalks was optimism. At Gucci, the programme notes referred to designer Frida Giannini's "signature impulse for optimism", Maxmara billed its spring/summer '09 collection as "elegant, optimistic and innovative", and Matthew Williamson said his clothes for Emilio Pucci were "uplifting, energetic and optimistic", adding that "in times of recession, people want special pieces and jewelled treasures".
In other words, while the very fabric of the economy, possibly society and possibly the world crumbles, the fabric of fashion has a bright future.
This might come as a surprise given that the autumn/winter collections seem so suited to our downbeat, lugubrious mood. It can't be a coincidence that it's the darker, more funereal trends that have really captured our gloomy imaginations - black lace and austere tailoring. However, unless the designers in Milan were so depressed by falling palazzo prices that they wanted to commit commercial suicide, they were never really going to advocate black leather trousers for summer, which is typically the season for colour, flowers and so on. But such a variously sweet, exuberant and kaleidoscopic celebration of la dolce vita isn't necessarily the obvious direction.
Or maybe it is. In times of hardship brands tend to distil their offering to its USP (Unique Selling Point). Miuccia Prada might not have been talking about the economy when she said her collection was "back to basics. Primitive in the sense of trying to find out what matters." Returning to their roots is what the labels in Milan have been doing. Most of the experiments of last season (Dolce & Gabbana in poloneck on catwalk shock! Roberto Cavalli in high-necked dress scandal!) have been cast aside in favour of playing it safe and focusing on their signature look. And for a lot of the biggest brands that's a luxurious, baroque extravagance of molto jewellery, molto colour and molto sexy.
Sex
Sex was firmly on the agenda at labels where you would expect it, such as Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli and Versace, but even at the more restrained, subtle names, such as Prada and Jil Sander, it was there.
Paparazzi photographers everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief now Roberto Cavalli has reintroduced the micro-mini to his catwalk. He might have kept some of the romance of the last two seasons, and his famous love of animal print seems to be reserved for his latest collaboration with Diet Coke, but there was a flirtatious (although haphazard) quality to his mini dresses, with faience prints on the front and bustles at the back, pale blue and cream bandanna print skirt suits worn with cropped bra tops, and long, sheer, black dresses and shirts.
Over at Dolce & Gabbana, the sultry Sicilian widow was back, clad in black or cream corset dresses, sheer black chiffon skirt suits patterned with tiny fringes, and men's pyjamas. Miuccia Prada might not be an obviously raunchy designer, particularly as she used crumpled cottons and silks for a slightly organic, anti-couture look to her straight skirts and dresses in black, white, snake print and khaki. However, the fact that the fabrics were fused with metal thread gave the collection a sensual element.
At Jil Sander, Raf Simons used dark colours and minimalist shapes, but there was an undercurrent of sexuality to his seemingly austere clothes.
Romance
"Soft and romantic" was how Christopher Bailey described his wistful show for Burberry Prorsum. His inspiration was the idea of "the garden girls" and the collection suggested some dreamy English aristocrats wafting around their country seat with a Virginia Woolf book in one hand and a bunch of organic carrots in the other.
Burberry was another example of a designer responding to the banking crisis by embracing his brand's heritage, and the collection was a case of "pimp my trench" as he showed the iconic Burberry outerwear in numerous incarnations, from ombre cotton macs and bright pear jacquard evening coats to python trenches with pailette adorned hems.
And were Christopher Bailey's buried anxieties about who will be able to afford his bags coming out in the sombre music, which included the Pogues' Love You Till The End?
A romantic mood also prevailed at Giorgio Armani. His famous soft tailoring was particularly fluid this season, as jackets came with pleated details, and in hip length, frock shapes. Bias cut dresses were made of pale blue, cream, and pale grey silk, while long evening gowns in ethereal watercolour pastel chiffon were delicately beaded.
Parchment and caramel coloured dresses in strapless chiffon at Bottega Veneta offered a quiet, lyrical alternative to dramatic eveningwear.
Colour
A statement of confidence came via jewel brights at Gucci. The label played it safe with a collection of commercial shapes in vibrant colours. There were tomato red, sky blue and emerald cropped trouser suits, and violet and turquoise flowing maxidresses.
The Marni show was not so much a riot of colour as a full scale revolution. Raspberry, sunflower yellow, jade, sky blue, orange, fluorescent pink, aubergine and white were cleverly combined in a way that brought eclectic patterns and layers together in kooky harmony.
Print
Hawai'i or Palm Beach, the destinations of choice for many of Gucci's jet-setting customers circa 1970, seemed to be the inspiration for their prints. Palm designs appeared on cropped white trousers, microscopic bikinis, and angel-sleeved, draped minidresses. Marni used 1960s pop art prints, including an image by Peter Blake on a T-shirt, and giant spots evolved throughout the collection. Pucci never veers from its signature angular, Bridget Riley-esque print, but this time the predominant colours were emerald green, purple and black, and it had a harder, spikier edge, while Maxmara showed suits with lively florals.
Ruffles
At Moschino, ruffles came in tiered horizontal and vertical versions, large and small, in clusters and in rows. Cavalli showed skirts made of stiff, bustle-type ruffles and rows of mini, pleated ruffles, and some rather frou-frou ballgowns featuring a profusion of flounces. A flourish of ruffles also appeared on a yellow silk dress at Versace, among broadly clean silhouettes, and on a buttermilk dress at Pollini, now designed by Jonathan Saunders.
Key Trends
Fringing (Jil Sander and Alberta Ferretti), jumpsuits (Armani, MaxMara and Matthew Williamson), bra tops (Cavalli and Prada), the mini skirt (Gucci and Versace), nautical (Emporio Armani and D&G).
- INDEPENDENT
