MILAN — A fresh femininity running through the Italian designer collections that wound up here Thursday had U.S. buyers looking forward to the fall season.
Retailers hailed the revival of the dress, in all its forms, as well as short, sassy skirts that were all over the runways, the fresh burst of colors and body-hugging knitwear.
“It’s great to have the feminine look coming from Italy, and we think there’s room in women’s closets for it,” said Kal Ruttenstein, senior vice president of fashion direction at Bloomingdale’s.
Furthermore, with this winter’s deep freeze, store executives were looking at coats with new eyes, not to mention the knee- and thigh-high boots.
“There were a lot of very wearable clothes,” said Rose Marie Bravo, president of Saks Fifth Avenue. “We liked the major injection of color and the fact that the whole proportion question has been resolved — length is no longer an issue,” she said.
“All in all, we’re very pleased. It is a strong market for us, and we’re seeing lots of interest,” added Joan Kaner, senior vice president and fashion director for Neiman Marcus.
Most of the stores said they were expanding their Italian designer budgets for the fall-winter ’94 season, with a little nudge from the favorable exchange rate. At around 1,680 lire, the dollar is about 7 percent higher than it was last year and appears to be holding strong.
Retailers also said prices look good so far — although they haven’t all had writing appointments — as the design houses are trying to pass the exchange rate benefit on to their customers.
“We are very encouraged by what we’ve seen, and we’ve planned a high-single-digit increase for the Italian designers,” said Janet Gurwitch, executive vice president at Neiman Marcus. She added that the store has planned a series of special events and personal appearances this year to promote their European designer business.
Joe Cicio, chairman and chief executive officer of I. Magnin, said the store’s “overall budget for European designers is higher,” though he said it was too early to say if those extra dollars would be spent on the Italian designers.”It really depends. We’re not going crazy, but we’re not pulling back either,” he said.
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All buyers cheered the return of the day dress, which they said offered a new, easy alternative to the working woman uniform. They said the best dresses were at Giorgio Armani, in both his black label and Emporio collections.
“If anybody can get women back into dresses in daytime, it’s Giorgio Armani,” said Ellin Saltzman, senior vice president and fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman.
“There are a lot of young girls who have a life at work and in the evening that would like to dress that way. It’s conservative, but young and fun,” said Bloomingdale’s Ruttenstein about Emporio. He also said that the store is going to increase its overall buy of Armani.
The buyers also picked up on Armani’s richly beaded eveningwear.”Armani did such a major statement for evening — and we have a growing need for it in our stores,” said Saks Fifth Avenue’s Bravo.
Jil Sander’s floaty dresses and Genny’s two-piece sets also got high praise, while Alberta Ferretti, who is well known in Italy but still breaking into the U.S. market, received special mentions for her ethereal cocktail dresses.
The buyers didn’t fail to respond to Versace’s tease either.
“Versace was colorful and sexy and hot,” said Bergdorf’s Saltzman.
“For us there is a customer who wants clothes with a little more sex appeal,” added Neiman’s Kaner.
“It was extraordinarily creative, and consistent with what’s made him successful,” said I. Magnin’s Cicio, who also raved about the professional production in Versace’s new in-house theater.
Orders were already being placed for Fendi’s new Coat-to-Coat collection of fabric coats, which was a hit all around. “The shapes were great, from the short, swingy looks to the fuller shapes,” said Ruttenstein.
Ferre’s plush military coats were also a success, as was his clean daywear.”It was strong and simple,” said Saltzman, who especially liked the black leather group and the ribbed knits.
For more masculine looks, the buyers approved Dolce & Gabbana’s return to men’s wear. They especially liked the tweedy patchwork jackets and the mixes of tweeds and knits. “Their English-country tweeds and Charlie Chaplin pinstripes were very nice,” said Nicole Fischelis, vice president and fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Neiman’s Kaner liked the short skirt over pants, which “could have looked costumey anywhere else, but looked right there.”
Retailers also stood by Antonio Fusco’s impeccably tailored, easy-to-wear suits.Moschino’s new all-natural collection was well received, but it’s his Cheap & Chic line that gets the high praise — and apparently sells like hotcakes.
Meanwhile, Krizia got high marks in the knitwear department. Bloomingdale’s Ruttenstein liked the items trimmed with leather strips, as did Neiman’s Kaner, in addition to the oversize sweaters with the tiger motifs.