At Milan Fashion Week, Clothes Dance

Despite the pandemic-era calls to reset, Milan’s fashion week starting on Tuesday appears to be picking up almost exactly where we left off in February 2020, albeit with masks and social distancing measures in place: the same crowd thronged the entrance to show space. ; the same sprint from one end of the city to the other; the same delay. Plus change, the French say.

As for the clothes, in the first two days of Milan, the action tends to be very handmade, tied, braided; to the sensuality of bodies sculpted and molded into highly tactile garments; going into that fashion, taking Stephen Burrows lessons, dancing. But the dance is a bit cold.

At Fendi, Kim Jones based his first physical show for the Roman house on a sketch of Antonio Lopez found in the archives. Picture of Karl Lagerfeld with Antonio and Anna Piaggi in the extraordinary moment when the magazine vanity, edited by Piaggi and often illustrated by Lopez, expresses a sensibility that is so out of date yet so fresh that it immediately springs to mind when I read the press notes. But this is the story. On the Escher-esque catwalks, apart from curly hair and swirling prints on silk dresses, everything changes.

Jones’ signature is a certain precision: he excels at sewing if not flou, tends to be stiff, which may not be the best match to excite Fendis. Yesterday’s collection felt smoother around the edges than before; a little softer. Oddly enough, it’s the ever-beautiful white stitching and feathers that have a kind of dizzy, jolly, goofy flutter. Silk dresses, on the other hand, don’t dance at all.

The tension is the energy reading the opening lines of Jil Sander’s show notes. Cold precision has long been a hallmark of designers Lucie and Luke Meier, but this collection brings a movement towards, dare we say, warmer temperatures, a little closer to real life. The Meier family recently became parents, which may explain the way they seem to embrace imperfection over idealization. Big volume and soft colors feel fresh. However, one is left yearning for something real tension, which probably meant the designers needed to break their own Jil Sander mold.

Does the high-octane, brash, unabashedly high-octane femininity feel out of sync with the post-pandemic? Maybe yes, maybe no. It certainly permeates life. Fausto Puglisi has long been a purveyor of such recipes, following in the footsteps of Gianni Versace. This is true at his namesake label as well as true, in his work as creative director Roberto Cavalli. This is Puglysis’s first Cavalli catwalk outing and features an animal print, fangs, short skirt and crinoline, as expected. But as one might predict, it also looks fresh, mostly for the sturdy sandals that sometimes replace stilettos and for their almost masculine slimness. Sex appeal is back with a bang, and things just get better for it. At times, the road is a little too Versace, but then again, isn’t Cavalli the new Versace of the past?

Sexy took a tomboyish turn at No.21, where slip-on knits replaced high heels and fierce runs instead of strutty sashays. This is Alessandro dellAcqua charting relatively new territory while sticking to the fur, bare skin and bandeau tops he’s always loved. On Blumarine, it’s late ’90s/early 00s TLC and Missy Elliott: part tomboy, part femme fatale, very MTV fun exercise in style but design? Meanwhile, at Etro, the atmosphere takes a very youthful turn, blending the exoticism and vague hippie sensibilities at the heart of the house with rave culture. The collection has spirit, but it will be interesting for designer Veronica Etro to pursue this new direction a little further, cutting through old family ties.

A Spring/Summer 2022 look from Alberta Ferretti, Emporio Armani and Del Core. Courtesy.

Some of the collections are less digestible; a little bit all over the place, if to be honest. Alberta Ferretti is one of them: from ombr dresses to sequined pants to knitted dresses, there’s a lot to flaunt, but delicately designed pieces, liquid feather dusters, and pretty tabliers suffice. In Max Mara, the beatnik opening and holiday inspiration of ’60s bontons is quickly poisoned by layers of sportiness and an attempt at upbeat excitement. Emporio Armani celebrates its 40th anniversary with a joint show that is not retrospective but usually lengthy and full of inspiration, united by ideas at another place: journey from the city, to the desert, to India. Weird? A little. Captivating? Sometimes. Still, one yearns for the muscular and sensual energy that Emporio had in the past.

Del Cores’ second-rate show, which was inspired by the water in many of his states, and which grew on the idea of ​​mutant glamor laid out last season, also lacks coherence. Del Core has an excellent atelier, whose work deserves close appreciation and a swanky, smoky production certainly doesn’t help. The designer used to work on custom pieces for private clients in his Gucci days, which explains his focus on specific items rather than collectibles. But the result feels a little confusing, despite some stunning dresses. There is potential in Del Core. It just needs to be shaped better.