Daily Front Row

2010 September 23

Runway Reviews: Fendi, Alberta Ferretti, Gucci

Fendi Spring 2011
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(MILAN) FENDI
Karl Lagerfeld took the seventies trend one step further for Spring 2011, offering up a downright cheery selection of primary-colored separates, maxi dresses, tunics and caftans that would have made a fine wardrobe had the Mary Tyler Moore show been shot in Rome. Color-blocked resin heels and frame bags in the peppy palette of cornflower blue, teal, eggplant, Venetian red, will be this collection' bread and butter, but Lagerfeld's energetic and faintly nostalgic take on Spring  will provide the glamour-loving Fendi loyalist plenty of reasons to spend beyond the accessories counter.

ALBERTA FERRETTI
After two seasons of glowing reviews for sticking to her brand's basics, Ferretti returned to familiar territory—the garden—with equally pleasing results. Sheer, floor-grazing chiffon day-ish dresses comprised the heart of the collection; the soul, however, belonged to a few lace-trimmed blouses in neutrals like grey, cream, sienna, and bisque. Sixties-style crochet made a few cameo appearances, in dresses and jackets, but there were a few workhorse basics mixed in as well, namely a basic trench, worky chiffon skirts, and a lace-trimmed poet's blouse.

GUCCI
Sorry, black-and-white loyalists—if even Frida Giannini is sacrificing her beloved neutral palettes in the name of color (and lots of it), then you can't help but brave the bolds come Spring. From the first look—a toss-on orange silk blazer, purple tube top, and high-waisted teal pants—Giannini's Gucci collection credited everything from Guy Bordin photographs to Marrakech as inspiration. As for the latter, plenty of textures (fringe, embroidered linen, suede, and gilt beads and accents) jazzed up these looks, most memorably in a smattering of body-con separates. But it was the fringed silk cocktail frocks in the aforementioned brights that closed the show and provided this season's takeaway statement.