MILAN, September 23, 2008

By Sarah Mower

Miuccia Prada had a sound bite for her Spring collection. "It's primitive," she said, "going back to what counts." And what counts most in a back-to-basics time, when most of us will need truly visceral temptation to get us out and shopping? Why, glamour and eroticism, of course. When the chips are down, there is no one who can turn up the thermostat of subversive sexual provocation quite as high as Mrs. Prada. Her girls, their skin glistening as if on a fevered summer's night, might have been passing through on their way to or from lovers' assignations, their clothes disarranged in various states of falling-off, or looking as if they might do so at any moment. Rumpled and crinkled fabrics have been appearing all over this season, but never with such sly intent. One pull of a trailing drawstring tape and, whoops! A person could find herself half naked. Not that this collection is, of course, at all brassy. From some angles, it can all look like a perfectly innocent summery dishevelment—that is, until there's a glimpse into an open-sided dress, or a cashmere sweater turns to display hospital-tape ties holding the back together (or just about).

There was something fabulously Italian about all this shameless reveling in femininity. The fifties overtones, with the high chignons, the ruched bras, and swishing rear-action in the below-knee pencil skirts managed to channel the heyday of Cinecitta without cliché. Best of all, this is a collection destined to look even better on a woman with a real body than it does on a teen model. And that, Mrs. Prada surely knows, really is "what counts."

MILAN, September 22, 2008

By Nicole Phelps

As the kids say, Francesco Sconamiglio has mad skills. He can cut a lean, mean suit with the best of them—but he'll never graduate to the big leagues like his front-row pals Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi have until he turns down the kink factor. The show opened with a respectable-enough cropped ivory jacket; unfortunately, it was worn with see-through plastic trousers. The second look, a coat-dress with an asymmetrical neckline that purposely exposed one breast, was even more risqué. The blouses were lovingly crafted, with spills of ruffles at the throat or, more unusually, with shoulder pads made from feathers—but, again, because they were so sheer, their appeal will be limited.

A series of little white dresses (bracelet-sleeved, one-shouldered, or strapless, decorated with sculptural rosettes or ruffles) showed Scognamiglio at his best: just this side of flamboyant, but relevant at retail, too. When he starts thinking more along these lines, he'll start drawing the crowds that his technique deserves.

MILAN, September 22, 2008

By Nicole Phelps

The fact that the air-conditioning konked out at her show added a touch of irony to Clare Waight Keller's pleasant if somewhat lackluster Pringle collection, inspired as it was by David Hockney's swimming-pool paintings. "I wanted a bit of escapism," she said backstage. "She's a sexier girl, and confident, but it's still easy." Playing on the company's heritage of knits, Waight Keller rethought the twinset (invented by the Scottish house in the thirties) as a knee-skimming cardigan and matching tank dress with ruffles cascading down the front. She remade the heavy-gauge cable sweater, too, transforming it into a viable summer option by knitting it so loosely that from a distance it looked like lace. Cotton dresses tucked and folded origami-style at the neckline and the waist came decorated with brushstroke prints in cobalt and turquoise, while simple white shifts were densely embroidered in black, blue, and gray for a 3-D effect. A boyishly offhand touch was added by engineer-stripe Henleys, cardigans, and full-cropped pants—but elsewhere the embellishments were a bit overwrought. As cool as the blues were and as light and transparent as the gauzy knits looked, they couldn't stir the air in the room, nor did they rouse much of a reaction from the crowd.

MILAN, September 22, 2008

By Nicole Phelps

"This collection confirms a style that has changed the face of fashion," the program notes stated. That's not too bold of a claim when it comes from a designer like Giorgio Armani, the man who rethought the modern suit, then put his own sparklingly sinuous stamp on red-carpet wear. His Spring collection had both of those signatures in spades.

The show opened with elongated one-button jackets in traditional suiting fabrics. The ones that followed had a similar slight flare below the waist or a ruffle of pleats at the back, but they were made in fluid jerseys and shown with pleated and tapered silk pants, long shorts, or tucked-hem skirts. The wet-look hair and glistening makeup that was perhaps conceived to reinforce the show's breezy "Joy to Wear" message was too much of a good thing, but it was refreshing to see some big-name models on Armani's runway.

And speaking of big names, how fitting that Cate Blanchett was in the audience today: Armani has no better emissary for the sort of body-skimming beaded stunners in which he specializes. He sent out one-shoulder cocktail dresses and wispy chiffons in soft pastels, but they were just an opening act for his finale: a parade of beaded and embroidered long dresses that glimmered without veering into glitz. Had the timing been different, Jessica Stam's strapless number would certainly have surfaced on the red carpet at last night's

At Gianfranco Ferré

September 21, 2008

Stella McCartney: Fall 2008

FASHION SHOWS

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Chicago History Museum Presents: Couture Treasures

Vintage Couture: Starting this September and carrying on through next summer, the Chicago History Museum will present Chic Chicago: Couture Treasures from the Chicago History Museum.

If you are a fan of couture and luxury living, the Chic Chicago exhibition is not something to be missed. The exhibit showcases Chicago's couture culture, which has long been dominated by stylish women as they make Chicago a luxury lover's paradise and get away from the city's grimy connotations.

The exhibition features garments through the centuries, dating from as far back as 1861 to as recently as 2004.

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Each featured gown is part of the museum's permanent collection and has a strong tie to the city's history and present.

Tim Long, the curator of the costume collection at the Chicago History Museum goes through tons of special gowns and materials to make the Chic Chicago exhibit a very special event.

Each gown has special attention to detailing and is often a testament to the magnificent draping techniques of past and present couturiers and the luxurious textiles used.

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Designers featured in the collection include a gown by 70s fashion icon Roy Halston and a circa 1884 evening gown by Charles Frederick Worth, who carefully crafted his fabrics. Even still fashionable House of Dior is featured, with a1948 day dress designed by Christian Dior himself as part of his famous "New Look."

Each piece shares not only an important place in the history of couture, but a connection to the city of Chicago. Chic Chicago opens September 27, with previews on September 25.