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Neo Classics : Designers give some familiar shapes--A-line dresses, catsuits, swing coats, leggings--infusions of strong color.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

The hotels were not crowded, there were plenty of taxis, getting a table at a good restaurant was not impossible, even on short notice. The Gulf War and the sluggish economy have affected business here, along with the mood. It was a quiet businesslike week, as Italian designers presented their somewhat subdued fall ’91 collections.

For the first time, audiences passed through a metal detector before entering the shows and everyone was asked to carry identification. Attendance was down (10% fewer members of the press, reports Beppe Modenese, press director for the Milan Collections.) Contingents from U.S. stores consisted of three or four, not the usual 10 or 15.

Even the choice of runway music was influenced by world events. At the Dolce e Gabbana show Sunday, the first day of the five-day event, scantily clad models marched to the lyrics, “no more war, no more violence,” when they weren’t marching to Madonna.

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Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been favorites of the fashion press for several seasons, if only because their clothes are photogenic in the bump-and-grind sense.

Virtually every famous model hit the runway wearing corsets and girdles, two signature pieces in the designers’ collections. There were jeweled corsets and bras over black bodysuits, and more stoned corsets over white body stockings. Justify my love. There were satin girdles under sumptuous velvet coats, their sleeves crunched into submission. One skirt--or was it a girdle?--was festooned with black foxtails.

Their fashion-as-pick-me-up approach represented one of two distinct schools of thought here, on how to fight the present slump. A more prevalent attitude came from Krizia, for one. “This is no time for too happy clothes,” said the firm’s business director, Aldo Pinto. That translated to knit leggings and printed tunic-length sweaters for weekends, dresses and jackets for the office. Primary red and blue, as well as strong turquoise, added a bit of drama.

Franco Moschino, whose playful, lower-priced Cheap and Chic line has been a bonanza for American retailers (jackets are $600 or $800, versus $1,500 or so in the signature collection), showed by appointment only this season. The signature collection included simple black and white silk dresses for evening, and for day, conservative-check pants, notch-collar jackets and stock tie shirts.

It was not a season of wild innovation. The Italians stuck to what they do best: tailored classics. Skirts were still well above the knee, but there were fewer micro-minis than in recent seasons. The ‘60s theme was strong again, but the accent was on the linear and architectural, not the flamboyant flower child. A-line dresses and short swing coats were part of many collections.

If shapes tended to be conservative, colors tended to be strong. Even Giorgio Armani, known for pale earth tones, showed a red and purple plaid suit. But black and white combinations, as in Gianni Versace’s op-art printed, miniskirted suit, got equal play.

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In a wild collision of patterns, he also showed black and white op-art leggings under a pin-striped minidress with oversize-printed bodice. Classic menswear fabrics collided with colorful, theatrical prints. Most everything was skintight.

Sunday evening, Missioni staged a low-key presentation in the showroom, where people talked on their portable telephones as they waited for the models to come out. There were bowls of hard candy on the cafe tables. But no cocktails, and no corsets.

Good ideas and a fresh vitality enlivened the signature knits. One pair of leggings resembled python skin. Another, in tiny black and white dots, went with a contrasting knit coat. Skintight leggings and catsuits were part of many collections, often layered with short-shorts, miniskirts or elongated blazers.

On Monday, Keith Varty and Alan Cleaver for Byblos showed leggings with skating skirts. They also featured cozy, three-quarter-length quilted parkas and long soft cashmere coats in bright green fuchsia or yellow.

Ferragamo took a surprisingly sexy approach, parading patent leather miniskirts and bra tops down the runway, along with see-through organza blouses and cashmere sweaters with plunging necklines.

On Tuesday, Donatella Girombelli, president of Genny Moda, won the first standing ovation of the season. Her houndstooth knit suit with gold buttons was ‘60s inspired, but the mid-thigh, flared hemline and the color combination of tangerine and green made it totally modern. (Gianni Versace co-designs the line, though he does not get official credit.)

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Armani presented his lower-priced Emporio collection in his private theater on Tuesday night. His long blazers had a curt, boyish look. Pants were almost as tight as leggings--a look that many designers here showed for fall. Even the bravest will have trouble wearing his super-short sarong skirts, gathered tight over the derriere, crisscrossed in front. Cashmere suits came in tangerine, cyclamen and violet.

At his Wednesday show, Gianfranco Ferre put marabou feathers on the hems of satin evening blouses, and sequined cowhide spots on evening jackets. His daytime clothes were slightly more probable, notably the season’s ubiquitous short trench coat, and his baby-soft leather Windbreakers over ski pants.

Gianni Versace used to get things rolling on Sundays with his evening show, but he moved to Thursday, the last day of shows. Giorgio Armani decided to do that too, as did Krizia. They may have hoped that by then more buyers and editors would show up. On the other hand, it seemed like a game of one-upmanship, Italian style.

Ultimately, the Milan collections have come down to a Gianni and Giorgio show, partly because there seems to be a dearth of new talent. No one remarkable has come along since Romeo Gigli moved his collections to Paris. And that was two years ago.

Cathy Horyn of the Washington Post contributed to this story.

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