MILAN, February 23, 2007 – For a designer who loves her frills, the movement toward masculine tailoring could’ve been a headache. But Anna Molinari took it in her stride, adding satin power suits to her (as usual) dress-heavy lineup; to keep it Blumarine, she simply outlined the lapels, pockets, and skirt slits with glistening bugle beads.

As ever, there was no shortage of embellishments. They ran the gamut from subtle jet beading and passementerie details on black cashmere coats to the rather-too-loud trompe l’oeil crystal necklaces decorating satin dresses.

Molinari keyed into both the season’s must-have neutral, gray—a short-sleeved chinchilla jacket, cropped, belted, and worn with skinny pants, was a highlight—and the color trend. A pair of fitted day sheaths came in one of Milan’s loveliest brocades, a lush, painterly floral in shades of red and pink on a dark base. An emerald-green duchesse-satin bomber with matching pencil skirt was strong, too. As for the evening bolero made from densely embroidered roses of amethyst silk that closed the show, it was a final flip of the nose at all the talk of seriousness. Molinari prefers to have fun with fashion, thank you very much.

– Nicole Phelps