Italian Designers Put Up Cheerful Fashion Front

Tag : Chiffon Fabric

Everyone knows the fashion world is suffering from the presentworld economic crisis — not only in sales but also in fashionbuzz. Every round there are fewer shows and fewer people —both buyers and press who attend them.
"We buy very carefully these days," said Bloomingdale's fashiondirector Stephanie Solomon, in town for the preview collections,which move onto Paris over the weekend.
On the other side of the runway, designers have come up with anantidote for tightened purse strings: Happy clothes.
"We wanted to offer a smile," Stefano Gabbana of Dolce&Gabbana saidof their show based on silk pajamas.
Throughout the week, designers have been showing bright colors andbasic styles to create what Giorgio Armani, referring to hiscollection, called "easy to wear" clothes.
The overall look is light and fluid with a preference for chiffonand jersey over stiff cottons and linens.
Lace resembling children's cutouts and colorful floral andgeometric prints underline the upbeat mood for next summer. Thestyles are demure rather than sexy, with the accent on the back,from cutout to billowing.
Jewelry, the happiest of accessories, is back after several seasonsof austerity.
Donatella Versace, whose collection closed the round of big namesshowing this week, chose a big heart to express good cheer.Fashioned out of the same material as the outfit, her hearts, whichappeared on either the front or back of her daytime sheaths andsumptuous evening gowns, resembled giant brooches holding it alltogether.
DONATELLA VERSACE
Donatella Versace, known for her sex pot styles, kept things calmfor next summer in keeping with the current preference for relaxedfashion. The clothes were tight but not tawdry, with Donatellahanging her fashion on a simple above-the-knee sheath.
For a more dazzling effect, Donatella offers the look in goldcrocodile printed fabric.
Daytime includes cropped trousers worn with small jackets, andpretty dresses in a cheerful pop art print.
Bold gold zippers appear as decoration on many outfits.
For evening, Versace presents a series of long, luxurious eveninggowns. A short strapless dress in bright yellow silk, with its wideskirt made up of swirling fabric, picks up on a trend seen in othercollections — the couture corolla.
Sandaled footwear at Versace is metallic and tall, but nothingcompared to the heights reached in some other shows, which causedstumbles and one tumble on the runway.
The theme of Donatella's latest collection is the heart. Made outof fabric, it appeared on either the front or back of her daytimesheaths as well as her sumptuous eveningwear.