Milan Fashion Week: Missoni warms the heart

On a cold and rainy day in Milan, Angela Missoni proved why, after 58 years, the house of Missoni still warms the heart.

In a season when bold hues are shaping up to be a major trend, she chose a unique palette of ice cream colors (mint, vanilla, cotton candy pink, creamsicle and lavender) that looked good enough to eat.

Chunky, dip-dyed sweaters topped maxi-skirts in pastel zigzag knits. Floor-skimming, patchwork knit dresses were worn with oversized, cable knit cardigans, or delicate lace sweater coats that faded to feathers at the hem.

Add to that patchwork biker boots and newsboy caps, and the models looked like chic teenage vagabonds.

Meanwhile, zigzag patterned wool trousers in Easter egg colors, raw-edged Prince of Wales check coats and snakeskin dusters added a bit of the dandy touch.

And who knew that the designer's end-of-show bow would be so touching? Catching her 80-year-old father Ottavio's eye in the crowd, she grabbed his hand, and took him for a runway lap. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

The family patriarch had reason to celebrate; his biography was just released by Rizzoli, telling the whole knits-to-riches story of the Missoni family business.

--Booth Moore in Milan

PHOTOS: Missoni fall-winter 2011 runway collection photo gallery

Photos: Looks from the Missoni fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fasion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times.

Milan Fashion Week: Boy meets girl on the Dolce & Gabbana runway

The fall Dolce & Gabbana collection was a retro 1980s riff on the boy-meets-girl theme. The problem is that there wasn't anything surprising about the boys' bankers-stripe suits with skinny short pants, or the jackets with cut-off sleeves, the glittery brogues and the pork-pie hats tipped backward, Annie Lennox-style.

The "girls" were in dresses, either billowy silk chiffon star and music-note prints, or tight-fitting and shiny like disco balls.

From the last few seasons, it seemed like the Dolce & Gabbana collection was going in a more upscale, sophisticated direction. (With a huge emphasis on surface texture, natch, which is a major trend we're seeing now for fall.)  But this cute-bordering-on-camp collection was more in tune with the designers' younger-minded secondary label, D&G. (Heels with piano-key designs, plastic star earrings, etc.)

Let's put it this way, there was a photo of '80s Madonna tacked to the inspiration board backstage, but I can't imagine the pop diva wearing any of this now.

-- Booth Moore in Milan, Italy

PHOTOS: Dolce & Gabbana fall-winter 2011 runway collection photo gallery

Photos: Looks from the Dolce & Gabbana fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times

Milan Fashion Week: At Brioni, luxury whispers

Now in his second season, Alessandro Dell'Acqua is doing a fine job designing the Brioni women's collection. And although his mantra may be  less-is-more, he certainly spares no expense.

The clothes looked like money on the runway, as elegantly tailored and effortless as those famous $10,000 Brioni men's suits, but unmistakably feminine.

Imagine a plush, slim line camel coat and full trousers, worn with a blouse in sumptuous orchid pink duchesse silk, or sheer black Chantilly lace with a tiny bow at the neck. Or a charcoal overcoat with the bottom half  in mink. Or a cream silk georgette T-shirt embellished with clusters of pyrite stones, paired with light-colored trousers, and a powdery pale fur coat. 

In keeping with the air of whisper-quiet luxury, jewelry was bold but not glitzy. Each look was accessorized with a honey-colored horn pendant necklace, an item that seems to be becoming a Brioni signature, while attaining a cult status with fashion editors.

--Booth Moore in Milan

Photos: Looks from the Brioni fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times.

Milan Fashion Week: At Marni, diamonds and furs

At Marni this season, designer Consuelo Castiglioni struck the perfect balance between quirky and elegant, mixing arty geometric jacquard shift dresses, cocoon coats and flared trouser suits, with glamorous dyed furs and Deco jewels.

The palette was a gorgeous combination of black, white, gray, royal blue, purple, pink and jade green. I especially liked the color combo of a short, jade green mink jacket and a peachy pink knee length skirt. (For evening, skirts had bugle beaded hems.)

There has been a lot of fur on the runways here. But Marni's was the most modern--a zip front, short sleeve blouson fur jacket looked totally new, as did a full-length coat sheared into a diamond pattern. Some furs were even light enough to be layering pieces--a fur coat peeking out from under a stiff, molded black leather jacket, for example.

And it's looking like Mary Janes could be the shoes of the season. Marni's were elevated on wood platforms, or block heeled with spectator details.

--Booth Moore in Milan

Photos: Looks from the Marni fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times.

Milan Fashion Week: At Emilio Pucci, Tyrol too much

At Emilio Pucci, designer Peter Dundas used the house's signature prints as the way into a Tyrolean fairy tale, complete with busty Swiss misses in tight, corseted dresses with lace-trimmed portrait necklines, embroidered dirndl skirts and velvet knickers.

And for their off days? Slim riding pants, gilded lace blouses and jacquard jackets with leg-of-mutton sleeves.

This was maximalism to the jewel-encrusted, embroidered and lace-trimmed max. And the sum of the parts crossed the line from cool to kitsch.

When wandering into Tyrolean fairy tale territory, Dundas would have done well to keep a foot in the real world.

That's not to say that he can't design a mean dress. The sexy, swirling green print dress wrapped in fringe was a beauty, as was the burnout velvet gown encrusted in cabochon crystals. And that sleek black jumpsuit with a plunging lace back? That's a costume any starlet in Hollywood would gladly get into.

--Booth Moore in Milan

Photos: Looks from the Emilio Pucci fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times.

Milan Fashion Week: Jil Sander, Raf Simons ski dazzles

Raf Simons did it again, following last season's Jil Sander spectacular with a repeat performance.

This time it was ski wear that inspired him, which means stirrup pants are back! All black, and pulled through the wedge soles of ankle boots, they created the perfect foundation for body-conscious knits with colorful, figurative designs. Tunics as easy as sweatshirts also evoked a louche luxe. One style came embroidered with loops of clear beads that sparkled like crunchy snow. And all the models had their hair swirled like soft-serve cones.

As with last season, color played a starring role in this collection -- vivid red, blue, yellow and green. And 1950s couture was the starting point for experiments with volume and outsize silhouettes.

Felted wool caped coats morphed into coat dresses, one in cherry red shaped by a martingale, another in goldenrod yellow with a low-slung belt tied in front. To break up the powerful palette, Simons introduced warp-printed duchesse satin alpine florals.

A Tilda Swinton will be happy to know he brought spring's ball skirts back. A chocolate brown version with a wide waistband, worn with a crisp navy shirt tucked in, might as well have had her name on it.

But Simons had a different, but no less genius, twist on T-shirts this time. He insulated them ever so slightly, with just the right amount of down feathers.

Because when you're dressed in a fabulous, down-filled black T-shirt and royal blue skirt, who needs beauty rest?

-- Booth Moore in Milan

Photos: Looks from the Jil Sander fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times

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Milan Fashion Week: Bottega Veneta's lovely, loopy ladies

Tomas Maier showed a crack collection for Bottega Veneta. So many of this season's runway shows seem to be about off-the-wall, eccentric lady style. But his take on it was perfect in every way.

There was a retro 1960s, Mad Women thing going on, with messy beehive hairdos and a loungey soundtrack.   

But the incredible workmanship that went into creating the unusual surface textures on these clothes made them completely fresh. A soft-shouldered pink-and-orange mohair coat had a nubby, lived-in look. (So that old pill-y coat gathering dust in your closet really can be worn again!)

There were also tons of terrific, ladylike suits with boxy jackets. One version, in cream, had a pleated skirt with a sooty hem that brought to mind tarnished silver.

Dresses and cardigans in scribbly prints were obscured with fabric and shredded lace overlays, evoking a disintegrating glamour. They were the kind of pieces you wanted to look at again and again.

Bags and shoes were also richly textured -- fraying patchwork itrecciato leather clutches, and velvet satchels that had been acid-washed. Then there was the jewelry. Bottega Veneta has been on a roll with jewelry. For fall, the standout was a little piece of Surrealism for your lapel: a "painted eye" brooch.

-- Booth Moore in Milan

Photos: Looks from the Bottega Veneta fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times

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Milan Fashion Week: Versace goes for baroque, but it's too little, too late

By opening the show with Gianni's signature baroque swirls and flowers blown up to Pop Art proportions on mod minidresses, it seemed Donatella Versace was going to have some irreverent fun with her fall collection.

The trouble is, Miuccia Prada already did baroque pop -- and better -- for spring, with her cartoony-fun, gilded monkey and banana prints, which editors here are already wearing, despite the freezing temperatures.

Then in came the cavalry. Narrow-waist coats, cropped jackets and box pleated skirts were cut with military precision, with cargo pockets and big brass buttons placed here and there, even on the bum.

A white snakeskin coat with enormous fur sleeves had a certain pop-meets-pimp appeal. The serpent theme continued on sexy tight black dresses with leather swirls snaking around the bodices.

But the feather-flocked evening wear was better than all the rest, from an amusing canary yellow dress that brought to mind Big Bird in a good way, to an Oscar-worthy finale gown shimmering like diamonds, with a string-thin strap down the back, dissolving into a swoosh of white tail feathers.
And was that a crystal Medusa head minaudiere I spied? I hope so. Because there should be a kitsch factor to this brand, along with all the sex appeal. But she could have done so much more.

-- Booth Moore in Milan

Photos: Looks from the Versace fall-winter runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times

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Milan Fashion Week: Gianfranco Ferre back on track?

It was the first Gianfranco Ferre show that designers Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi presented in front of the brand's new owners, Dubai-based Paris Group. And you wouldn't have known from the cool, confident collection that Ferre had just been sold out of bankruptcy after a two-year period of financial uncertainty.

The designers drew on the clean architectural silhouettes the house is known for, working in a mostly white, black and silver palette that was a departure from the vibrant color we've been seeing on so many runways here.

The look was quietly elegant and rich, with a renewed focus on wearability, starting with sleek coats with slim belts, or curly white fur panels.

Winter white sleeveless sheaths were worked with suede, and pencil skirts came with zippers in back for adjusting the height of a slit. Delicate sheer blouses sliced with strips of silk were paired with cigarette pants.

As day moved into night, things really started to shine. Sleeveless sheaths came with metallic bands crisscrossing the fronts. Gowns were beautiful, too, particularly the one with a wavelike silver lame front and an open back.

With the designers' future at Ferre most certainly still in doubt, it should be said that this was their best collection yet. The trick is getting shoppers to care.

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-- Booth Moore in Milan

Photos: Looks from the Gianfranco Ferre fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times

Milan Fashion Week: Miuccia Prada brings childlike wonder back to fashion

Showing her collection against the backdrop of a two-story, dollhouse-like set, Miuccia Prada brought childlike wonder back to fashion.

The collection revolved around short coats and coatdresses with low-slung belts, oversized buttons and a 1960s vibe. They came in powdery colors, sheer solids or windowpane checks, decorated with contrast piping, shag fur or silver-dollar-sized paillettes that jingled when models walked.

There was a homespun, Butterick-pattern feel to these clothes, a sweet naivete that hearkened back to a time before luxury brands had name recognition with toddlers, when style and fashion were learned at home.

Paired with glittery, two-tone boots with Mary-Jane-style straps, plush caps with chin straps, and round sunglasses, the collection built on the mod trend we saw at Burberry in London.

But more than that, as the models clutched their handbags close like teddy bears, it was a reminder of how we all fell in love with fashion in the first place -- as children playing with dolls and dollhouses, dressing in our Sunday best, and thinking our mothers were the most stylish people on the planet.

-- Booth Moore in Milan, Italy

Prada fall-winter 2011 runway collection photo gallery

Photos: Looks from the Prada fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times

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