Daily Front Row

2010 March 1

Runway Reviews: Gucci, Jil Sander, Moschino

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Gucci Fall 2010
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(MILAN) Gucci
There has been some debate in the press about Frida Giannini--is she a designer or a merchandiser, a marketing talent or a creative genius? Her Fall 2010 collection sparked the conversation yet again. The Gucci woman is looking more refined, more uptown. She still likes painted-on trousers and taut-as-can-be jersey minidresses (especially with cutouts), but she's also feeling khaki separates, like simple skirts and jackets and the occasional lace-back cocktail dress. An ardent lover of la luxe, she will swoon over a cream ostrich jacket, scarfdresses, and a short fur tunic worn with those same pants. The peekabo evening dresses, which were short and sheer and embellished with different arrangements of ostrich feathers, were especially winning. And as for the Gucci neophytes that Giannini seems to be courting? Give it a try--and courage!

Jil Sander
With a soundtrack that wasn't some composer à la John Cage and instead was the music from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Raf Simons' Fall collection was hell-bent on offering a uniform style of dressing for modern warriors struggling to climb free of the fashion trenches. Hopefully, they can deal with shorts. (And sorry, loves--these are not Bermudas.) The usual selection of high-tech fabrics were engaged in shades of black and grey, and they were used to make micro-shorts, micro-short jumpsuits, and finely-knitted one-piece bodysuits. Stylists like Anne Christensen will go wild, and thankfully,  the brand's customers on Madison Avenue and Howard Street will have plenty of nice jackets in cheeky plaids and fabulous suiting to play with.

Moschino
There was a time when this brand meant a ruffle, a he art motif, and a Wild Western streak. That time returned Saturday afternoon, when Rosella Jardini presented a Fall 2010 collection full of cheeky throwbacks to Moschino's heritage. The show opened with two models storming the runway in sunnies, 10-gallon hats, and mid-length bustier dresses--and the audience burst into (legitimately spontaneous) applause. The hats and glasses stayed put, but out came the black suits, quilted bags, and pounds of yellow gold hardware, from zippers to hoops to grommets and beyond. Some fun. The Elizabethan ruff-style collar were shown both as collars, and miniskirt. All in all, this designer's penchant for le drame is as statement-making as the collection.