MILAN
IT WAS A ROLLICKING DAY, FROM THE COOL CHIC OF JIL SANDER TO THE TORRID ZONE OF GIANNI VERSACE.
Gianni Versace: Linda Evangelista traveled from New York to Milan with her trainer. And did she know what she was doing! Milan has become a temple of body worship, and no one is more devout than Gianni Versace. The collection he presented Tuesday night was an ode to Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and every other sex kitten there’s ever been. Sure, Gianni’s got the commercial suits and dresses in a back room somewhere, but he wasn+t interested in showing them in his multimedia extravaganza.
“If you want to flaunt it,” Gianni seemed to be saying, “then I’ll really show you how to flaunt it.” Almost everything in this collection was tight, super-tight, from Versace’s curved, clinging suits, to his bum-grabbing evening gowns. There were slits everywhere, not to mention corsets, which originated in Paris and have gotten a whole new lease on life in Milano.
Even Versace’s colors were inspired by the boudoir, from candy pinks to icy silvers. His lengths were all over the board, but when he showed leg – and he showed a LOT of leg – it was with seamed stockings. And what’s a girl to wear with all this? Stilettos, of course.
This is clearly a collection for girls who get around. And it’s easy to pack. “Ninety percent of the collection is jersey,” Gianni noted backstage during the show. “I like its modernity, and you can travel the world in it.” Bon Voyage!
Jil Sander: Forget those disco babies. In a collection that was probably her best ever, Jil Sander showed Milan how women should dress – with subtlety and elegance. And we’re not talking about that old Paris dressmaker elegance. Sander’s collection was delicate, fetching and downright sexy.
These clothes have fit but never strangle. The colors are gentle but not insipid. And the fabrics, while fragile, are, quite simply, beautiful – from the shimmering iridescents and sheer knits to the crinkled silks and organzas. There are even materials made from pineapple fibers.
Sander, who has built her reputation on impeccable tailoring, has now added dresses to her repertoire. And they’re great. They are cut with the same simplicity and purity as her pantsuits, yet she manages to make them appealingly seductive with a few well-placed seams.
This collection brought minimal to the max. Sander’s jackets – some waist-cropped, others long and lean – caress the body. She opened the show with a group of them in sheer iridescent cottons over layered drawstring pants. Sander also pairs them with short, hip-riding skirts that reveal just a hint of midriff or skinny pants that are bunched at the ankle.
Her discreet and gentle touch moves right into evening with short wrap dresses that glide over the body and bare, off-the-shoulder tops in silk organza worn with wide-legged pants. The Jil Sander cult is sure to worship this collection. So will the retailers.
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Genny: Donatella Girombelli took a bow at the end of the show, but everyone knows she’s getting help on the Genny collection from American designer Rebecca Moses – which is one of the reasons the line’s such a big hit in the U.S. These are clean, classic and unfussy clothes – at least for daytime – that most women will look great in. Everything came in solids, from the white cigarette-slim pants with sunny jackets and tank tops to the crisp pink or all-white suits and some of the chicest little summer shifts in town – out of bright terry cloth, raw silk or supple suede, and in a rainbow of colors. Even the models were scrubbed squeaky clean; the accessories were kept to a minimum (no boas or rhinestones here), and the soundtrack was easy-listening to accompany clothes that will be easy-wearing.
Ferragamo: Steven Slowick has brought that good, clean American sportswear sensibility to the Ferragamo collection, and the formula seems to be working quite nicely. While these clothes are far from cutting-edge, they do have a certain appeal and an of-the-moment look. What was fresh this time were the simple-seamed dresses and suits in delicate pastels, the knit group in mixed brights and the dark brown pantsuits with bustier tops. Some retailers have complained that what they see on the runway here is not what is offered for sale. A Ferragamo spokeswoman, however, said that while certain pieces and styling are created for the runway, as with most shows, 70 to 75 percent is available to buyers.
Max Mara: This is an industrial-strength collection. The product of a design team for one of Italy’s strongest apparel companies, Max Mara should do very well again this season. Though hardly explosive, these clothes are in good taste and perfect for the well-dressed urban dweller: precisely cut suits, tailored trousers, wonderful knits and subtle colors. Max Mara is on a roll in the U.S., and these clothes should fly out of the company’s new Madison Avenue boutique.
Laura Biagiotti: While other designers are taking their inspiration from Donna Summer or Marlene Dietrich this season, Laura Biagiotti is influenced more by Doris Day. No spandex or cigarette smoke here. Instead, bouncing models hit her runway in happy, bright, day clothes that a guy could be proud to have his girl wear home to meet mom. As usual, the best part of Laura’s collection was the knits – especially a trio of dusty pastel minishifts, cream cable-knit tunics and a group of candy-colored sweater dresses worn with good-girl bobby socks. Biagiotti once again showed she’s an old hand at shaping cashmere into the kind of ladylike clothes that have been her meal ticket around the world, especially in the Far East, where she’s planning a massive expansion.
Industria: These are post-New Age clothes, clothes for the children of the flower children, casual chic numbers to lounge around in at the cafes of SoHo or the beachfronts of Malibu. There are urban-cowboy looks in butter-soft suedes matched with nubby cropped sweaters, bright silk tie-dyes, Indian prints and open-weave, raw silk shawls, not to mention some sleek, hard-working pantsuits in beautiful fabrics for those serious appointments.
Fashion Scoop: Sylvester Stallone’s got a new girlfriend, and as usual, he got her onto Versace’s catwalk. (First Gianni used Sly’s squeeze Jennifer Flavin, then it was Janice Dickinson, and now Andrea, a 22-year-old Austrian model, is making her runway debut.) Gianni had to teach the pretty brunette how to walk backstage, but, hey, you can’t say no to Rambo.
Stallone was joined at Versace’s second show Tuesday night by Gianni’s photo pals Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel and Michel Comte; that other model-beau, David Copperfield, and Elton John (in head-to-toe red vinyl Versace). As for royalty, Prince Faisal of Nabuk Emirate of the United Arab Emirates was there to see, but not to be seen – his bodyguards made sure all pictures snapped of his highness were promptly confiscated.