From left to right, Pucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Marni, Roberto Cavalli. photos: AP, AFP, Getty Images
It was a fashion-filled, star-studded weekend in Milan as some of the biggest names in fashion showed off their latest collections. Here are some highlights from the catwalk:
Happy anniversary!: Dolce & Gabbana celebrated 25 years on the catwalks of Milan with their show 'Sartorialita, Sicilianita, Sensualita,' which revisited what the design duo do best: tailoring, corsetry, leopard and rose prints and the updated black uniform of the Sicilian woman. 75 models walked out in black jackets over black satin and lace underthings, against a video backdrop of the collection being made in the studio. That wasn't the only anniversary this weekend. The maestro of leopard print, Roberto Cavalli, fêted 40 years in the business with a collection that celebrated what Cavalli is all about: the decadent side of fashion, with lots of prints and contrasting layers of fabric.
Celebrity skin: Courtney Love and Lindsay Lohan were spotted front-row at Cavalli, while Zoe Saldana, recently named the 'Face of the Future' for Italian label MaxMara, was the guest of honour at the brand's show. Twilight vamp Ashley Greene was front-row at Armani, as was British actor Clive Owen. Meanwhile, the sexy mini-dresses Peter Dundas showed at Pucci will surely be seen on many a celebrity come autumn, while Alberta Ferretti delivered feminine, floaty, red carpet chiffon dresses (hello, Oscars!).
Tight squeeze: Many fashion editors are lamenting the micro-mini Milan schedule this season, which has been blamed on a certain editor from American Vogue. As Hilary Alexander laments in The Telegraph, "As an example of the hideous complexity, today's schedule featured a Giorgio Armani show at 2.15pm, on one side of the city, and the Moschino show, scheduled to start 45 minutes later, on the opposite side of town - a good twenty minutes to half an hour's drive away...The frustration reached boiling point at the first Gucci show, when a group of young girls donned blonde, Anna Wintour-style bobbed wigs and sunglasses, with T-shirts bearing the slogan "I will only stay three days."" As if running around the city feeling harangued all day wasn't bad enough, Alexander reports that editrixes are having to forsake the best part of a trip to Italy - the meals - in order to make it everywhere on time.
Party girls: Donatella Versace's collection for a/w 2010 had a geometric slant, with sliced-and-diced asymmetrical hemlines and lots of leather, while Christopher Kane's collecton for Versace junior label Versus featured T-shirts and bags with images of Bruce Weber's photos for Versace, as well as cupcake-shaped skirts and bright red cocktail dresses.
True colours: The mood this autumn isn't going to be dark and dreary. There were unexpected colour combinations and '70s-style patterns from Consuelo Castiglioni at Marni, evening dresses in bright pinks and reds at Bottega Veneta and lovely paisley and chinoiserie fabrics at Etro. Meanwhile, Giorgio Armani's black velvet-themed collection was given an electric burst of jewel colours with emerald green, red, bright orange and pink - with embellishment like tiger embroidery across the front and back.
Brokeback fashion: Cowboy hats were on the runway at Moschino, paired with large gold hoop earrings and sunglasses, and cowboy style was also referenced at Missoni (as well as Masai warriors, Indonesia, Burning Man fans, and more), which translated into multi-coloured knits that looked super stylish and cozy. This season also marked Margherita Missoni's (daughter of Missoni designer Angela) debut collection of jewellery for the label.
The lady is a vamp: Always known for their outrageously sexual catwalk antics, this season, the Dsquared² brothers, Dean and Dan Caten, sent out their a/w 2010 version of sex appeal: latex leggings, black cocktail dresses and red and blue embroidered arteries. Yes, arteries. In the Frankenstein-style lab of the catwalk show, skeleton hands, rib cages and spinal cord heels were also all part of the show. This gives inner beauty a whole new meaning.