Fittingly, Frida Giannini, who had customized one of the cars and planned to laud it at an evening event, looked back to the Fiat’s golden era as a love nest just made for two in her 1970s-inspired show. But the designer had zipped ahead of the rock-chick looks she had once picked up from that period to something much more classy and grown up.
“I wanted to play with color, a little of the 1970s and a lot of irony,” said Ms. Giannini backstage, after the parade of fabulous Ms. Fox furs in turquoise, purple, rust and lilac wrapped around the shoulders above slim leather dresses or those sporty jackets with pleated culotte skirts that looked a lot like Yves Saint Laurent archives updated.
The designer was really following the trail she had laid with her colorful spring collection, but made this one even more believable. For every smart daytime outfit, topped with a felt hat and set off with shiny lips, there was a filmy evening dress, using similar colors for chiffon float-away panels that revealed a lot of leg. And there would have been even more exposure if solid underpants, almost like gym shorts, had not left decency to parts of the body revealed by the flying fabric.
The overall effect was of a well-thought-out collection that kept the brand on its upward trajectory in quality and elegance. Every accessory was stylish — the satchel bags, the idea of a small purse swinging below a larger shoulder bag and jewelry that would be as wearable with the quieter gray-tone day wear as with the brightly colored pieces.
Even embellishment was couture class, when Ms. Giannini produced anniversary bouquets garlanding the shoulders of the evening dresses.
“Anjelica Huston photographed by Bob Richardson” was the designer’s take on her vision. YSL redux would have been a more honest assessment. But if you are going to follow a master, Ms. Giannini picked a winner and came up with a powerful and upbeat collection to keep the brand 90 years young,
The show Tuesday was historic in another way: It marked the last appearance of Robert Polet, outgoing chief executive of Gucci group, who was front row with François-Henri Pinault, chief executive of PPR, Gucci’s parent company, who will now take over all strategy and management.
But photographers, already on to the next thing, were far more interested in Lapo Elkann, scion of the Agnelli/Fiat company, and his union with Gucci on the customized car, which will be on sale April 1 from €17,000, or $23,175.
This is the time of the year when a young girl’s fancy turns to the Academy Awards and what is worn on the red carpet. Alberta Ferretti has had a particular slant on the award ceremonies, using delicate craftsmanship in a discreet way, putting the woman herself at the fashion epicenter.
But this season the Italian designer made her statement with day clothes, giving them a modernist swing, either by offering a juicy orange tunic and pants or a sparkling teal blue coat; or even using a pattern that appeared to cut into the surface, as though there had been some minor internal explosion.
These special effects were stylish, especially as the line of short dresses was filled in to the feet with rich velvet boots, say in papal purple. Yet a quite different woman, more conventional, seemed to be targeted for After Six — one who put her Hollywood heart into sparkly silver embroidery or into black lace which, however delicately done, looks very familiar.
Maybe Ms. Ferretti, like many other designers, has had it with stars as “models” and just wants out from the celebrity circus in order to make pretty clothes for a sophisticated customer. So be it. But her show still needed a clear image and a sign of which direction she want to take the Ferretti look for autumn/winter 2011/12.