Barely There

Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2010

Dolly Jones

25/09/2009

YOU can't go wrong in an Alberta Ferretti gown - you'll always be asked who made it and you'll always leave a lasting impression of having looked chic, rich and confident.

Her latest collection is no different - muted to the point of being colourless, it accentuated the idea that a Ferretti woman never looks like she tries too hard, but in reality each look was a complicated set up of finely gathered and pleated chiffon that made every one entirely unique and suggested that Ferretti had been working with couture in mind.

Purple and green floral applique adorned the length of smoky chiffon dresses, with wide gathered straps crossed at the back, while Maria Callas on vocals kept our minds on earth-shattering romance.


Ballerina-length coats featured delicate smocking while mini dresses in the palest tan, lemon, grey or white came tied as aprons over sheer underlayers.

If next season is looking as feminine as can be, this is surely the benchmark of femininity, with spaghetti straps holding on backless Grecian gowns that dispersed around the models' legs in clouds of yellow and green layered silk chiffon.

Fendi Spring Summer 2010

By Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director at Milan Fashion Week
Published: 5:48PM BST 27 Sep 2009

Unbelievable weightlessness. A longing for the boudoir infused the show

“Airy, weightless,” said Karl Lagerfeld of his spring/summer collection for Fendi. He could just as well have talked about ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being”. These were clothes that were barely-there, both in terms of colour and fabric: parchment and pastels, liquid silk-jersey, diaphanous tulle, washed silk.

A longing for the boudoir infused the show, from the silken romper-suits, slips and lace-trimmed French (or should that be Italian?) knickers, right up to the flowing, peignoir-like beige tulle gown, interwoven with feathered strips of fur (this is a fur house, after all), and worn over a satin top and knickers, which closed the show.

The pale palette and soft materials veiled the technical artistry and hand-craft which went into the collection. Devore appliqués were as soft as butterfly wings; needlepoint, tracery and tattoo embroidery traced fragile motifs on pale linens and silks.

The ‘Miss Haversham’ quality was underscored by the delicate deconstruction which was interwoven throughout the collection, disclosed in frayed edges and unfinished seams. In keeping with the lingerie theme there were small pochettes and clutches which could be ‘undressed’ by removing the covering linen and lace ‘slips’.