Return of the Sexy Beast
MILAN--The last time the fashion flock gathered here, in early October, the Sept. 11 attacks were still on the mind, and escapist fare came in the form of soft, frothy looks. This time around, conscious or not, designers showing during the first days of the Italian fall collections are projecting the image of a woman who is strong, hardened and doesn’t believe in fairy tales. She’s no romantic, but she is sexy.
“Fashion swings,” Gucci’s Tom Ford said before his show on Saturday. “You hear enough soft music and you want something hard.” The brash babe is back.
To the tune of Stevie Nicks’ ode to the Celtic goddess Rhiannon, Ford’s models bounded down a white fur-covered runway, wearing stilettos so fierce that they sent one poor girl tumbling to the ground three times in a scene reminiscent of Carrie’s ill-fated catwalk turn in “Sex and the City.”
But if there’s anything we’ve learned in the past few months, it’s that the show must go on. And it did, with Ford’s oversized wool wrap coats, boxy jackets and bulky sweaters texturized with pieces of leather and fur casting a wide “don’t mess with me” swath. Paired with skin-tight pants that bunched down over the shoes, or pencil-thin skirts, the high-profile tops made for a powerful V-shaped silhouette.
Ford stuck to a dark palette of chocolate brown, olive, burgundy and black, with a minimum of tailoring, and continued to build on his Asian theme from last season, wrapping smart, silk jacquard print obi belts around the waists of everything from fur jackets to sleeveless silk dresses. For the red carpet set, he draped the body in silk, twisting strips of fabric down the back, around the hips, up over the breasts and across the shoulders to create a group of sexy gowns that were the stuff of Greek sculpture.
Ebony onyx crosses were worn on cords around the neck, and the new bag was large, rectangular and crocodile, with hand-polished wooden handles lending an exotic feel.
In one of her most provocative collections to date, Miuccia Prada said she explored man’s obsession with sex. Models’ slicked-back ponytails, killer high heels and leather envelope clutches screamed sex in the office, as did a sheer lavender bow-neck blouse, which could have been business-appropriate had it been worn with something underneath.
Brown and black silk, fur or tweed baseball jackets and oversized wool cardigans belted over straight skirts were a nod to how alluring a woman can be when she wears men’s clothing. On the softer side, beige or black knife-pleat silk skirts and sleeveless dresses with leather cords cinched around the waist under the bust and at the hips again suggested Greek sculpture, or at least Madame Gres.
An attempt to use illusion fabric on backless dresses and blouses with plunging necklines missed the mark, looking awkward on the body. And a group of lingerie looks with chain-link overlays proposed as evening wear went a bit too far. She didn’t need it; there were already plenty of turn-ons, including, in the most likely to be imitated and make it to the mall category, peek-a-boo clear plastic trench coats shown over immensely wearable black sequined skirts. Prada’s use of color, from mustard yellow and blush pink to lavender and rich navy blue, was also marvelous.
Dolce & Gabbana continued to dabble in last season’s folkloric look, presenting a collection they dubbed rustic glam. “It’s all about a return to family values and craftsmanship,” Stefano Gabbana said before the show. (That is, if your family values involve chinchilla-lined hunting vests and eel-skin clogs.)
Nevertheless, excitement at the show was palpable at the sight of Giselle Bundchen on the runway for the first time this season, along with catwalk vet Naomi Campbell. Under the sheltering limbs of a tree that had been shipped from southern Italy, the designers offered their vision of roughing it: winter white corduroy pants worn with brown waistcoats and silk cameo-print georgette blouses, menswear-tailored velvet pantsuits and a cream-colored sweater dress that unraveled on Bundchen’s backside. Scarves with a hand-knit look, so long they skimmed the ankles, appeared here, as elsewhere, hinting at what could be again the accessory of the season.
Shearling coats and tall leather boots were embellished with hammered nails and other details such as exquisite butterfly and flower-shaped appliques. A sumptuous sweater of knitted mink, a fringed wool poncho and skirt and a cashmere tube top worn over a sexy lace camisole completed the picture of a woman ready for the wilderness, or at least the ski lodges of St. Moritz.
Max Mara worked a similar palette of cream, brown and black, presenting a collection headlined by wearable coats in every shape and size. Wool wraparounds, chevron-print fur blouson jackets with hoods and Nanook of the North shearling vests worn with tailored wool pants or leggings tucked into high boots may not be anything new, but they could easily make their way into almost any woman’s closet.
It was when Max Mara veered from the classics that there was trouble. Wool culottes, ending at the top of a boot, which turned up in other shows as well, may or may not find their way off the runway (they may be just too silly). A suede coat and dress in a patchwork of geometric shapes looked tired, as did sheer, gold metallic tunics belted over leggings and short skirts, and a group of evening separates covered in peacock feathers brought to mind fishing tackle.
The Fendi show had so much fur shaped into tank dresses, midriff-baring tops, vests, stoles and coats that it could only be described as a slaughter. Even for someone without strong feelings about fur, the over-the-top opulence of a runway-length cape as big as the beast it came from didn’t feel quite right for the times. There were some handsome shearling coats and a dress or two in leather so supple that it could just as well have been silk, but that’s where the kudos end.
As for secondary lines, so far, they’ve ranged from refreshing to ridiculous. Donatella Versace’s Versus line was a welcome splash of color in a week dominated by dark neutrals, with leather and sheepskin jackets in delicate pastels, and pencil skirts emblazoned with an acid-bright alphabet print, worn over corduroys, ruched velvet pants or jeans.
Moschino’s Cheap and Chic couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. Equestrian jackets, breeches and a one-shouldered Liberty print dress looked very Sloane Street, but patchwork pants and an off-the-shoulder crocheted sweater was more Holly Hobby. Unfortunately, neither look was particularly compelling.
Then there was D&G; in the “what were they thinking” camp. On a dirt floor with two plastic Holsteins for runway centerpieces, Dolce & Gabbana offered the milkmaid look--embroidered dirndl skirts, peasant blouses and corset tops that were totally Tyrolean.
You have to give it to them-- it takes a lot of guts to present a collection to an audience of blood-thirsty fashion types with the smell of dung hanging in the air. Then again, maybe the joke was on us.
