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12 International Herald Tribune
Friday, Februar y 22, 2008
D&G sees party’s end; Fendi, cool proportion
From Page 11
made fox glow like a carpet of golden autumn
leaves.
‘‘And we want classic things,’’ said Venturini
Fendi, meaning not just the furs cinched with a
wide belt but otherwise left to show the natural
ripple of sable and fox, but also a new attitude to
the iconic Fendi bags. Apart from evening
clutches set with semiprecious stones, the bags
were solid, sensible and — for the first time
since Fendi baptized the ‘‘Baguette’’ a decade
ago, they will have reference numbers rather
than identifying names.
It would be good to say that Lagerfeld presen-
ted an equally firm statement with the clothes.
But there seemed to be a slight hesitation be-
tween showing only the rounded short skirts
with leather, fur and cable-knitted tops — or
whether to extend the range. Leather skirts that
hit the floor looked cool in proportion to the
upper half but who is really going to wear such
gothic floor sweepers?
The same applied to many of the leaf effects,
although they were rather beautiful as cutouts
MAXMAR A
Ma xMara:
Practical suiting
M a xMara sent out a cohesive collection of
practical suiting with just enough edge to
make things interesting. The focus was on the
shoulder and for those who miss the struc-
tured look that a padded shoulder gave a suit in
the ’80s (but wouldn’t be caught dead in one
now), MaxMara has found the right balance by
twisting and folding the fabric.
Asymmetrical short skirts with the hem fol-
ded under and visible through a slit and well-
cut pants with double waistbands also had
their own quiet impact. There were beautiful
A-line coats with capped sleeves and cable-
knit sweaters for day, or the sequined version
for evening. Frosty pastel gowns shimmered in
draped jersey and were topped off with knitted
boleros. And other than the one or two tops
that looked like Brillo pads, the collection
should make buyers smile.
— Jessica Michault
on skirts or jackets, in tune with the bare trees
projected as the backdrop. Where Lagerfeld
scored was with the sweep of a cape-sleeved
coat and the overall feeling that everything was
perfectly in proportion, from the swelling
sleeves to thigh-high boots.
The designer dismissed the idea that length
can still be a fashion issue, saying: ‘‘You can’t
make hemlines a subject — it is not about the
length, but the proportion.’’
The Emilio Pucci invitation, with its herit-
age photograph of a colorful figure on the
mountain slopes, explosive pattern on the jacket
and hefty skis from the 1960s, captured the out-
door freshness of the show Thursday.
Thick knits, worked in a patchwork of quiet
shades or felted wool coats, their fuzzy surfaces
toning down the vivid geometric patterns, made
for a more varied collection. There were still a
few too many little dresses in bright colors un-
der chubby fur coats, worn by models whose
laced boots were strictly for après ski.
Explaining that Emilio Pucci himself had
wanted his jet-set prints to capture the speed
and velocity of his era, the designer Matthew
Iceberg’s
superheroes
t Iceber g, the designer Paolo Gerani
A decided to go for dramatic impact
through oversized proportions. But gen-
erally he kept the volume limited to one
or maybe two aspects of each outfit, lest
the sporty style be overtaken by bulk.
If a coat collar was a supersized man-
telpiece of fur, then the waist was nipped
in tight to the frame. If sleeves ballooned
out with quilting, then the body was lean.
Or if the designer adorned his sweaters
with rows of thick knit braid, well, at
least they were roped on top of form-fit-
ting knitwear.
The use of comic books and superher-
oes as inspiration (think Roy Lichten-
stein and Catwoman ears on hoodies)
might be timely as that is the theme of
this year’s Costume Institute exhibit in
New York, but you have to wonder what
was going through Gerani’s mind when
he decided that what every woman needs
is a silk chiffon evening gown with an ab-
stract alien face on the bodice.
— Jessica Michault
ICEBERG
Fashion
Williamson said backstage that he had created
on the computer five new prints, from an Alpine
landscape with abstract fir trees to diamond
patterns, in order to ‘‘break down the some-
times chaotic prints.’’
There is still a sense that Williamson is skat-
ing across the surface of Pucci, yet the show was
lively and well planned. The Alpine theme
brought icicles of crystal on clutch bags or as
jewelry, giving a sophisticated vibe to the sporty
theme. Intriguingly, the most intense patterns in
the show were on a few ultralong dresses, while
the overall silhouette was short and snappy.
Williamson, as with most designers, is tinker-
ing with change.
Br ion i’s show, created by a design team, was
as it should be: luxurious, sophisticated and in
rich colors like eggplant and burgundy among
the black. The silhouette was long and lean, out-
lining but never gripping the body, often with a
blouson effect to add volume to the upper half.
Lush fur trims or a streamlined curly lamb coat
added to the elegance. Although the legacy of
the previous designer left a few flashes of bared
flesh at the back, the show captured the sartori-
TRUSSAR DI
Photographs by Chris Moore/Karl Prouse
Trussardi f launts
cave woman chic
aia Trussardi gave her women a potent
G collection of clothes filled with animal
magnetism.
It was a tribal tribute to pelts: a strapless fur
gown (furry side against the skin), a suede coat
cut with a totem pole motif and a top of sliced
leather strips (did a saber tooth tiger get to it?)
all made an appearance on the runway. Sur-
prisingly this ‘‘Clan of the Cave Bear’’ collec-
tion worked.
Break out the individual pieces — say a
circle skirt with a perforated flower pattern in
glazed leather or a suede corset jacket top with
faux breastplate — and you come away with
wearable but nonetheless statement items.
As for the accessories, Trussardi smartly did
not go with a Neanderthal look. There were
sleek bracelet-clasp clutches in python, over-
sized supple shoulder bags and belts of knotted
leather that looked oh-so-modern.
— Jessica Michault
al style that Brioni has always produced for
men, but which now has a female component.
Whatever has happened at DSqua red2? The
witty, energetic sportswear that was the brand’s
trademark seemed to have turned into a silly
pastiche of couture. Most of the outfits ended
up looking like a fast-fashion company had em-
barrassed itself by showing on the Milan run-
ways. Although ‘‘r unning’’ was the last thing the
models could do, as they balanced precariously
on metallic pin heels and often resorted to tak-
ing off the torturous footwear.
With an occasional plaid clutch bag, dress or
coat lining and some silver zippers, there was a
faint echo of the posh punk from its menswear
show in January, since the designers Dean and
Dan Caten kept the same London street set. But
it just isn’t good enough at the international col-
lections to send out a bunch of clothes with no
significant brand identity, without even produ-
cing the camp romp that used once to be
DSqua red2’s signature.
Suzy Menkes is fashion editor at the Interna-
tional Herald Tribune. DSQUAR ED2
‘A mbiguity’
key at Krizia
ariuccia Mandelli titled her latest
M collection for Kr izia ‘‘seven types
of ambiguity’’ and she hit the nail on the
head — for that is exactly how she left her
audience feeling after the show.
This was a collection where the body
seemed to be the enemy. If it was not dis-
appearing into the bulbous coats that en-
gulfed the models then it was exagger-
ated, with the designer cutting extra-wide
hips on evening gowns or constructing
pants that tapered at the bottom, giving
the models ‘‘thunder thighs.’’
But every once in a while a short jewel-
toned silk dress would pop up, looking
beautiful and modern — and keeping the
audience in hopeful anticipation that
more would be arriving shortly.
— Jessica Michault
ALESSANDRO DELL’ACQUA
Dell’Acqua offers
a f lashy finish
t is never easy being the last show of the day.
I The audience has been saturated with sar-
torial activities for hours and it is no small feat
to shake the glazed look out of their eyes. Well,
Alessandro Dell’Acqua woke the public up
all right but probably not in the way he had
hoped.
Marrying thick felted camel-colored
cashmere with tangerine silk in the opening
series of outfits produced looks that even the
most die-hard fashionista would have a diffi-
cult time pulling off.
But once the designer got that out of his sys-
tem, he moved into much more interesting
areas of exploration — the most powerful of
which was his use of knitted chiffon and em-
bellishments that looked like icicle cake frost-
KR IZIA ing, making the clothes both sexy and cool.
— Jessica Michault