Versace fails to impress as big Milan shows begin
Versace fails to impress as big Milan shows begin
By Jane Barrett
MILAN (REUTERS): The big name fashion shows kicked off in
Milan on Wednesday as Versace strutted its way onto the catwalk.
But the traditionally glitzy, glam label lacked vim and vigor in
a collection which had little new to offer.
Fashion followers who had predicted a 1980s revival in the
Autumn/Winter 2001/02 shows got their satisfaction when denim-
effect leather and fur arrived on Versace's neon pink catwalk,
but even they failed to give the collection coherence.
It was all there: 1960s patterns, 1970s flared dresses, 1980s
drainpipe jeans and 1990s single-breasted, monotone suits. Even
the turn-of-the-millennium favorite three-quarter-length sleeves
got a fair showing.
Yet none of it really hung together as a collection and it
hardly screamed originality as far as world fashion is concerned.
Versace has never exactly been a label the sensible working
girl turns to when she wants a skinny black trouser suit or a
gray pinstripe jacket, yet there they were, paraded alongside
slightly madder blue-tinged fur jackets.
For the rag trade generally, nothing new, although it was the
first time Donatella Versace -- sister of the murdered designer
Gianni and his heir at the helm of the house -- had shown
trousers and fur to such excess.
This is Milan, where animal pelts rule supreme on women of all
ages, and next winter they'll find plenty of fox, sable and mink
at Versace.
Long blue coats had cream fur lining, drainpipe trousers
looked even skinnier under thick brown fur parka jackets, and you
can wear pretty much anything as long as you drag a white fur
stole behind you.
Feminine form
Women are still women at Versace, and a good number of the
outfits were dresses wrapped tight around the hips or revealing
flashes of leg, back and stomach through extra long slits.
Again, the styles have been seen elsewhere.
Material fell in long triangles from each shoulder to the
waist, revealing plenty of chestbone and navel. The individual
take was left to brown leather pads hugging the bottom or hanging
everything off a black leather collar.
Long dresses were cut quite close to the knee and then flared
out either to mid-calf level or all the way to the ankle.
And as far as color is concerned, any decade goes -- end-of-
millennium silvery satin or randomly printed netting in red,
brown, black and cream all mixed together a la 1960s.
There was a little daring, but it was quite mild in comparison
to what one might expect from Versace.
The last piece of the collection was a mid-length evening
dress with a layered sequined skirt under a bodice made of
leather straps looped around the hips, waist and chest, described
by one fashionista in the capacity crowd as "ballroom with a hint
of sadomasochism". Bizarre, though, to have done it in beige.
The star of the show -- watched by the singer Sting -- stood
out a mile as by far the most stylish, daring yet wearable piece.
For the day you want to shock the office, try a bright pink
polo neck jacket and micro-skirt cut to hot-pant level. It's as
risque as Versace gets this year.