The Greatest Hits of the ‘70s
If Tom Ford, the 34-year-old Texan who designs for Gucci, had been able to produce the magic of his last runway show again this season, the paperwork for his pact with the devil would have been poking out of his back pocket. And it’s doubtful those snug Gucci pants even have a rear pocket.
The glamorous plunging shirts, tight pants and high heels of the fall collection, shown last March, formed an indelible image, a ‘90s vision of the jet-set who ruled ‘70s New York with a troika of irresistible assets--youth, beauty and new money. The spring collection presented here on Thursday reflected more dangerous times. It retained slick simplicity but featured a harder edge, an attitude the anti-heroine of “The Last Seduction” would understand.
Predominately in brown, black and navy, the monochromatic outfits, and the deeply shadowed eyes of the models, flaunted an air of decadence. Ford, who in the past two years as creative director for all Gucci products has catapulted the company to worldwide success, is that most Freudian of designers, using projections of sexiness as if lust motivated all human activity. “Clothes are all about sexuality,” he said after the show. “To ignore that is to miss the point. My customer, in L.A., Rome, Hong Kong or New York, isn’t afraid of sexy clothes.”
He suggested women stride into the erotically charged atmosphere in nasty, pointy-toed, stiletto-heeled shoes and boots. They’ll alternate their Gucci military uniforms from last season with tight, knee-length skirts, slit at the sides, worn with wrapped or strapless sweaters of an airy knit. Necklines sliced deep and bare were the focus of sleek sheaths with blousy tops. Lean, very long pants flared only slightly at the bottom. Ombred velvet dresses or bronze and copper trousers in stretch silk and Lurex were appealing alternatives for evening.
Gucci lovers have no time to fuss, so jackets and collarless brown suede coats were unencumbered by closures. Just as designer logos threatened to become another bad joke, Ford stripped the clothes and accessories of conspicuous Gs. Belts and shoulder-bag handles were formed of interconnecting rectangles of dark leather. The only logo on the runway appeared at the rear vortex of a G-string, suggesting that a fetish for initials should be kept behind closed doors.
The return to the ‘70s that Gucci so successfully sparked a year ago brought back the long, narrow silhouette that dominates fashion today. Now that the style antecedent has been faithfully addressed, the shape of that decade is being modified, and the references are more subtle. In addition to reintroducing such better-living-through-chemistry fabrics as polyester and Ultrasuede, high, small armholes and boot-cut trousers, the ‘70s made color and pattern acceptable again. Women who had relied on plain, all black wardrobes since college were suddenly contemplating daisy prints and clothes in the shades of fruit Slurpees. At first, bright colors were more digestible in an homage to psychedelia.
No one has benefited more from the ‘70s revival than Tai and Rosita Missoni, the husband-and-wife team who started their business here in the ‘60s. “Their things look so good again because they understand the ‘70s in a way that many designers can’t,” explained Ruth La Ferla, fashion director for Mirabella. “They were really there.”
Although the ‘70s marked their golden age, the Missonis never stopped producing extraordinary knitwear for a loyal clientele. Meanwhile, spurred by the popularity of retro chic, women with an appreciation for the real thing bypassed flame-stitched and space-dyed copies and found beautiful old Missonis in their attics or at vintage stores.
At the packed party the couple threw at a nightclub for themselves after their show, a woman wearing an orange, teal and purple-striped silk jersey Missoni dress from 1978 passed by Joan Juliet Buck, the American editor-in-chief of French Vogue. “Great dress,” Buck said. “Major dress.” Suddenly, the vigorous septuagenarian designers are hot again.
A description of the colors and patterns of their knits could be excerpts from a travel diary--mosaics from Ravenna, the tiles of San Marco, the bargello stitching of a Florentine needlepoint, patchworks assembled by untutored folk artists, tropical butterflies, Persian tapestries, the frosting flowers of a Viennese cake. Missoni takes these poetic symbols and skewed geometrics, washes them with a brilliant palette and creates knits that are as much a tactile as a visual pleasure.
The spring collection included a variety of patterned knits shaped into henley pullovers (in clingy rayon), short dresses and long A-line skirts, hot pants, cropped, zippered jackets, and tunics over pants. Slinky gowns in the colors of a Mediterranean sunset were overlaid with sequins for evening. For women too shy for head-to-toe pattern, stylized stripes shot with Lurex were paired with solid gold Lurex pieces.
The passion for knits has given rise to many variations on an easy evening dress, destined more for steamy summer nights than black-tie events. Ferragamo, designed by another American, Steven Slowik, served up languid jersey dresses that slid to the ankle. A woman could climb into a thong, slide into a pair of thongs, slip on one of his brightly colored dresses and be ready for drinks and dinner at any resort in the world. These nearly naked dresses are a reward for the workout faithful. A well-toned body is their most significant foundation.
Max Mara and its less expensive division, Sportmax, also offered versions of the lithe, long dress, which was especially effective when cut on the bias. The Max Mara group, which produces 23 labels, is a commercial powerhouse in Italy, with the clout to corner the best new fabrics on the market. Wonderful blends of cotton, linen, rayon, polyester and nylon used for romantic and Far East-inspired designs in both lines proved that technological advances in fabric will help shape fashion’s future. And while the search for innovative materials is global, so is the quest for perfect abdominal muscles, unavoidably revealed through transparent fabrics. Infomercials promising that enviable abs are attainable for the price of an exercise contraption run on TV here in the wee hours, just like at home.
