A focus on flamboyance

ALESSANDRO MICHELE unveiled his most extravagantly flamboyant Gucci collection yet with a pink-hued spectacular on the opening day of Milan fashion week.

The Roman designer, credited with reviving the fortunes of what was a flagging brand, returned to the themes that have underpinned his turnaround and, it seemed, pushed each envelope a little further.

Androgynous looks were more prevalent than ever, his trademark giant glasses more jewel-encrusted than before, the platform shoes more vertiginous and shimmering with gems.

The idea, according to Michele’s notes to a show entitled “Magic Lanterns,” was to create a collection in which “the clothes tell a story steeped in wonder, phantasmagoria and unorthodoxy”.

That meant, in practice, that the converted railway siding that hosted the show was done up with pink velvet banquettes to create an ambience somewhere between a super-kitsch 70s night club and a courtesan’s boudoir.

Slippers with platform wedges were said to have been inspired by Venetian prostitutes, gowns were enriched with embroideries and ruffles and there were sparkly gold and purple leggings aplenty.

Wild animals were a theme on bags and on the backs of austere tweedy jackets. Suits on the male models nearly all featured three-quarter length trousers while the bell-bottomed female versions might have been designed for a hairy-chested lothario from the early 70s.

The inspirations for hairstyles were equally eclectic, spanning a range from Mork and Mindy to Marie-Antoinette. That eclecticism might have been what Michele was referring to in his notes when he explained that he was seeking to “cultivate the unexpected”.

He certainly did that and star guests actress Dakota Johnson and the cellist Kelsey Lu looked impressed.

But the initial online reaction was not nearly as rapturous as Michele’s previous collections.

Has he gone too far this time? Gucci’s French owners will not mind as long as sales keep ticking up as they have done consistently under the designer’s artistic stewardship.

Prada’s hopes of turning around its flagging fortunes were bolstered the following day when designer Miuccia Prada’s latest womenswear collection was given a warm reception.

The spring-summer 2017 catwalk show was hosted against the backdrop of a multi-screen film installation on which the designer collaborated with American writer/director David O Russell.

The silent dreamscape of what Prada called a “cinema poem” set a somewhat sombre tone – but the collection ended to the upbeat sound of loud and sustained applause from the audience of buyers, bloggers and assorted others.

That would have been music to the ears of executives at a company, which has been hit hard by a slowdown in Asia but vowed last month that 2017 would be a year of an e-commerce-led revival.

The collection that will be tasked with leading that revival featured models sporting 1920s-style bobs strutting down a metallic catwalk in flat sandals decorated with ostrich feathers.

Colourful feathers of all kinds abounded on collars and cuffs. There were some checked mannish jackets but also lots of hot pants and micro-minis. 

In one of the most memorable looks, black belted hot-pants were paired with a bra top worn over a checked blouse, itself covering a black roll-neck.

Bags were clutched close to the models like precious papers.

Fendi designer Karl Lagerfeld, meanwhile, recruited superstar models Gigi and Bella Hadid to help him unveil his two key looks for next summer: glitter lips and now-you-see-them, now-you-don’t big pants.

The veteran German designer’s latest collection was a playful affair – or “decorative opulence twisted with an athletic elan”, as he put it in his notes to the Roman house’s 2017 Spring/Summer collection.

Tennis champion Serena Williams provided some sporting star power to the front row, chatting animatedly with fashion godmother Anna Wintour and veteran style correspondent Suzy Menkes.

Adding to the celebrity star dust, the Hadid sisters pouted their glitter-coated lips obligingly for the backstage cameras to highlight a look that Lagerfeld revealed had been inspired by a cartoon princess: Vanellope von Schweetz from “Wreck-It Ralph”.

After years in which many fashion trendsetters have seemed obsessed with getting young women to bear their nipples to the world, Lagerfeld’s take on showing off knickers was all about the fabrics rather than skin-tone.

Asymetric, layered mini-dresses allowed only occasional flashes of underpants cut like track shorts of an Olympic sprinter.

But floating aprons and ribbon-tied gowns left less to the imagination from what fashionistas will presumably now have to call the rear view.

Dresses were frequently pinched at the waist, enhancing the transparency of cascading sheer materials. Where fewer see-through textiles were deployed, slashes up the side kept the lingerie on show. A body top was paired with a sheer skirt fastened by a bow over the derriere.

The colour palette was designed to catch the eye: apricot, blush pink and pale mint were combined with sporty stripes in scarlet, burgundy and marigold.

“In terms of innovation and research, this was one of the best collections we have ever produced,” Fendi chief executive told Pietro Beccari said.

The same playful spirit was to be found in Massimo Giorgetti’s colourful collection for Pucci and Max Mara, for whom the Hadid sisters also did a turn, appeared to be predicting a heatwave for the warmer months of 2017.

Figure-hugging jersey dresses and tight nylon leggings gave the latter’s practical collection a sexy edge.

Giorgio Armani took centre stage the following day with a flirty, exotic look for Spring-Summer 2017.

In his first collection since he moved to ensure his giant style empire will continue as an independent entity once he is no longer at the reins, the 82-year-old struck what he termed a “new |balance between discipline and freedom”.

Whether it was down to this summer’s landmark corporate restructuring is anyone’s guess.

But there was definitely a sense of the master of soft precision tailoring cutting himself a little more slack than usual with a string of more overtly seductive pieces than is the Armani norm.

Charm was what it was all about, according to the designer’s notes on the collection, “in the sense of elegance and sensuality, but also of magic and femininity”.

In practice what that meant was that many of the pieces were designed to allow legs to be unveiled then covered up again, frequently with the aid of long, swinging tassles.

There were also exotic sarong skirts and shorts and trousers in soft, figure-emphasising jersey fabrics.

Jumpsuits were combined with woven leather cropped jackets and there were shawls resembling the chunky nets of tuna fishermen.

The easygoing, floaty feeling was accentuated by a range of delicate sandals, flat slippers and strappy boots that produced a fishnet stocking effect on the calf.

Purples and blues dominated the colour palette, offset by touches of white, greige and red.

Micro-sequins and crystal embroidery abounded in sparkly evening wear predominately cut from ultra-light fabrics, including georgette and organza.