MILAN, September 30, 2006 – Hopping aboard Milan's space-age sixties trend might've been tempting for Angela Missoni. After all, this brand was born in that era. Instead, just as her parents did then, she's going her own way. Short shifts in fashion? Missoni put long pants with a slight flare on her runway—and not in a silvery brocade, or any of the other stiff fabrics that've been charging around town. Hers came in the house's signature crochet swirls. Shown with Missoni's contemporary take on the twinset—a slouchy V-neck sweater with a knit band atop it to give definition to the waist—the overall effect was one of softness and controlled ease. By contrast, the opening skirt, with large cargo pockets on the thighs, was a complete mystery: Few women could pull off a look that added such bulk to their frame, and even if they could, it's doubtful they'd want to.

Overcoming missteps like those, Missoni made the show memorable with her innovative prints. She turned tough, masculine camouflage into something feminine, using bright colors rather than drab ones and layering a water lily motif over them. At the opposite end of the spectrum was a microprint of soft dots on washed-out lavender and earth tones; this looked particularly good as fishtail flutters along the sides of a knee-length skirt. There were crystal-encrusted evening looks, but the newness came from something less predictable. The last outfit was a V-neck shell worn with a long column of a skirt, the latter slightly bubbled above optical chain embroidery encircling the legs. How refreshing to see a designer reinterpreting and updating her own vocabulary, rather than grasping at flighty notions of retro futurism.

– Nicole Phelps