Gucci

MILAN, February 22, 2006
By Sarah Mower
Gold pantsuits, Ziggy eyes, ultraminis, and patchwork purple crocodile biker jackets: Yes, Frida Giannini is doing glam rock for fall. "I was thinking of David Bowie and the way people played with their image to be something different every time they went out in the seventies," she said. "It's less romantic and more about energy and showing off."

That, of course, puts Gucci out on its own, given the sobriety- and restraint-obsessed mood of Milan, but you can see Giannini's thinking. Monasticism and abstract experimentalism would be nonsense on a Gucci runway. Its meaning in the world is as a nonintellectual, good-time brand, and in any case, when all around is going gray, there's always a need for a bit of flash.

Giannini's take on the label's recent heritage wasn't quite Tom Ford's all-out orgy of glamour. But she did slip in some knowingly high-nineties accessories: metal bags chained to a fetishy cuff, and a pair of high-shine cranberry platforms in the same techno "car paint" finish Ford used in his first collection a decade ago. As for the clothes, some of her ultrashort metallic jersey dresses actually read as more sub-Versace (which is a reference many young designers are enthusiastic about now), though she also tempered things with maxi, printed, and sequined options for the slightly more modest nightclubber. Even at their least wild, though, these looks weren't designed to be seen during daylight hours. It would be interesting to see Giannini take the collection beyond evening next time.

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