La Perla

MILAN, September 26, 2006
By Nicole Phelps
Some in the States might be surprised to learn that La Perla has a ready-to-wear collection, but judging by the Italian TV personalities in the front row today, the brand's reach in its home country now extends beyond the lingerie drawer. That doesn't mean that the collection ignored its roots. On the contrary, it took a handful of spring trends—eyelet, pale neutrals, miniature florals—and sexed them up with touches of lace and generous helpings of bare skin.

Things began innocently enough. Co-opting Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour as a muse, the show started off with a demure white dress cinched by a black bow—a recurring motif, it would become apparent—and a belted trench with a hem that was lasercut into a floral pattern. The collection quickly moved into vixenish territory, however, with above-the-knee cocktail numbers with bra-cup bodices and (slightly less suggestive) asymmetric, one-shoulder styles. The de rigueur swimsuits were tastefully done in bandeau tops and retro navel-grazing briefs. All in all, it was well executed, but La Perla's ready-to-wear still has a lot of growing to do before it establishes a persuasive identity beyond the boudoir.

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