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.