Prada offered yet more thigh-high boots, Marni flirted with florals and Aquilano.Rimondi cut to the heart of style with razor-sharp constructed jackets on Day 4 of Milan Fashion Week.
Marni
Last season’s mix of contrasting colours and geometric patterns evolved into autumnal jewel tone colour-blocking and florals in rich fabrics.
Prada
Red has emerged as a popular colour during this show season. But now that Miuccia Prada has used so many variations of crimson and burgundy for her new collection, it’s safe to assume that the colour will pretty much be a major trend for fall. Prada is one of the most influential women in fashion, after all. Unlike her work for spring ’09, which was rooted in the bedroom, this series was all about the office, and centered around tailored suits with strong, clean lines. But she didn’t stay in the workplace. A maroon fur dress with a deep V-neck and a burgundy cocktail frock made of strips of crystal embellished leather resembling an old Roman “cat-of-nine-tails” whip make cool, eccentric choices for night. Prada also showed some of the more modern looking versions of the thigh high boot that has been popping up all over the international fashion week circuit. —Kenya Hunt
Aquilano.Rimondi
Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi followed up their impressive Gianfranco Ferre collection with equally strong work for their signature line. Their razor sharp shoulders were a great update to tuxedo dressing for women. The tuxedo coat that opened the show and a crisp white jacket that came down the runway later were great examples of this. Other highlights included a swinging white dress with a black belted waist. Some of the evening looks though, such as a chocolate brown dress with feathers sprouting off the shoulders seemed to be for magazine editorials only, looking a little too over the top for real-life. —Kenya Hunt
Where’s the A-list?
With the exception of Scarlett Johansson at Dolce & Gabbana’s “The Make Up,” Milan Fashion Week has been surprisingly light on celebrities. There have been no Jennifer Lopez, Cate Blanchett or Christian Aguilera sightings front row (all of whom have attended the fashion shows here in the past). Perhaps this is the biggest sign of the recession in fashion land? A-list celebrities are, after all, an expensive addition to a show. Many of them require first-class flights, hotel accommodations, hair and make-up and an outfit for the appearance, on top of a fee for coming in the first place. If you ask many editors, though, the absence of celebrities is not such a bad thing. At least it makes it easier to get to your seat without having to navigate a throng of snap-happy paparrazi. —Kenya Hunt
