Oct 2, 2006

Italian summer sparkles with silver, gold

Associated Press

MILAN, Italy - Every cloud, they say, has a silver lining, and so it seems do most of the collections currently showing on the Milan catwalk for Spring-Summer 2007.

Silver skirts and dresses, silver coats and jackets, silver bags and shoes, not to mention jewelry, forge the look for next year's warm weather, marking a return to the metallic styles of the 1960s and 1980s.

Last century it was called "space age," while today's designers label it "futuristic," but whatever the name the look adds sparkle and glam to styles which have little creative zing of their own.

The Milan summer catwalk in fact is all aglitter with prim A-line dresses and simple tunics set ablaze by sparkling metallic fabric or myriads of twinkling sequins.

On no runway was the concept as clear or the look as spectacular as at Dolce&Gabbana's finale Thursday, when the designing duo presented a series of breathtaking evening gowns, all based on a simple floor-length silk-chiffon tunic.
The difference was in the embroidery - bold and bright sequins that covered the whole dress, making it into a shimmering work of art. One such gown, adorned with large silver disks embroidered on a yellow background, featured huge butterfly sleeves and a silver corsage for added magnificence.

The rest of the collection shone too, but here the trick was transparent vinyl to add gloss and volume to simple styles. This was especially apparent in the push-up bra look created by shrouding the bodice of a strapless black mini dress in stiff plastic.

"That way our clients can save on the plastic surgeon," Stefano Gabbana quipped back stage after the show.

Later Thursday, Karl Lagerfeld for Fendi presented his take on silver fashion. The models walked down the shimmering catwalk in a series of metallic dresses cut in geometric figures, like the black and white patterns popular in the 1960s. Large bags with silver meshing and silver platform sandals completed the galaxy look.

Sparkle at Jil Sander came not so much from silver but from the burst of color _ quite out of character for the brand's minimalist caroms. The label's present designer, Belgian Raf Simons, uses tangerine, emerald green, cobalt blue, fuchsia and lemon, but keeps the styles simple.

A pant suit with long jacket and slim trouser, a chiffon evening gown, pretty jackets and demure shorts offer the client the clean-cut look she is accustomed to. The bold palette, often paired with contrasting black, will take some getting used to.

All eyes Friday were on Donatella Versace and pop singer Prince, guest of honor at the designer's show and performer at an after-show party to inaugurate the new Versace venue in a renovated Milan theater.

True to the current metal fad, as well as Versace's glam trademark, the new collection is dipped in gold, from the large gold-meshed handbag dubbed the "Icon Bag" to the platform gilded sandals to the gold leather Bermuda shorts.

For evening, Donatella created a cocktail dress made entirely out of large gold sequins, while the trains of her floor length-gowns were lined in the precious metal.

Overall, the Versace collection was very 1960s, with a series of chic daytime shifts decorated in brightly colored graphics and neat suits with cropped jackets paired with either a short straight skirt or Bermuda shorts.

Earlier Friday, Anna Molinari for Bluemarine, offered up a delightful collection of party dresses and evening gowns in delicately draped or ruffled chiffon. Mostly in powder pink and rose, some of the dresses were brushed in silver.

Far from the metal mania, Dean and Dan Caten, the Canadian twins behind the Dsquared label, set up imaginary shop Friday on the famed isle of Capri, to present their ideas for next summer.

Models in straw hats, shorts, T-shirts, denim and some super sexy bathing suits walked down the catwalk to join their friends at a make-believe cafe while the soundtrack played Neapolitan favorites.

After all the galaxy glitter, the down-to-earth collection felt good.