Milan's Choice: Appeal to Reason or the Gut?

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MARCH 5, 2009, 11:17 P.M. ET
Milan's Choice: Appeal to Reason or the Gut?
Some Labels Offer Smart Design, While Others Aim to Strike Awe; 'Don't Tell Me More '80s!'
By CHRISTINA BINKLEY

Watching from the helm of the Gucci Group luxury empire, Robert Polet sees longtime patterns changing. "People don't have the impulse to buy," the CEO said last week at Milan's fall 2009 fashion shows. "They think about purchases more."


That's a vexing problem for the European designers who are presenting the clothes that will appear in stores next fall. Foot traffic is down in luxury stores everywhere. With the Dow industrials below 7000 for the first time since 1996 and with the U.S. savings rate at its highest level in 14 years, how is a fashion designer to sell expensive clothes?

In Milan, there seemed to be two conflicting approaches to this question. Some designers drilled to their cores. Giorgio Armani returned to the sleek executive lines he is known for, with capes, cardigans and slim pants in pewter and various other shades of gray. Versace went for all-out, body-hugging sex -- just what the brand is known for. Bottega Veneta showed winning looks for a woman who wants to be subtle about the excellence of her clothes. In fact, Tomas Maier's collection for Bottega was outstanding -- softly colored, supple wools and silks, such as a graceful silk jacquard trench coat and a soft, double-faced cashmere coat.

Miuccia Prada, who is consistently independent of the trends chased by other designers, rediscovered the suit -- creating slightly off-kilter, woodsy suits that were still authoritative enough to be snapped up by working women. "Women always wear suits," the influential designer said after her show. Though she's known for her artistic independence, she made a point of saying that her suits would work "from a commercial point of view."

Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta offered subtlety with a silk jacquard trench coat
Many other designers threw caution to the wind, creating collections of flamboyant, indelibly unique clothes and avoiding items that could be accused of being "commercial." That went against the normal grain of the Milan shows, where designers generally present a lot of wearable clothes. With the biggest economic challenge of their lifetimes facing them, these designers seemed to be trying to create clothes that would feel worth the investment. While this is an exciting approach, it's also risky, and it remains to be seen which of these designers will have hits on their hands.

Brian Atwood's designs for Bally included memorable shoes with elaborately carved metal heels. Mr. Atwood said he didn't concern himself with keeping costs down for the "fashion collection" whose role is to draw attention. (Bally's less showy "pre-collections" were created with costs kept in check, executives said.) "I think it's what women wanted," Mr. Atwood said. "Especially now, you really have to inspire."

Designer Graeme Black, of his impossibly expensive eponymous label, said, "That's my only weapon -- luxe." Mr. Black's collection, presented at his Milan showroom, was half the size of his previous seasons, and he's been working to cut his prices sharply. But there wasn't a single item that didn't attempt to deliver a knockout punch, including a $3,976 black cocoon cape that was inspired by a visit to the mineral collection at London's Natural History Museum. Mr. Black created the cape with multiple uses in mind, pitching it as practical, to a certain point: "You can wear it with skinny jeans, you can wear it with an evening dress," he said.

Graeme Black went for 'luxe' with a mineral-inspired dress.
Another suit had been hand-painted to achieve the mineral-like look he desired. Mr. Black said he is braced for selling fewer items to his wealthy clients than before, so he wants each one to pack a wallop. "One of the sad things about this downturn is that ladies' husbands have cut their budgets," he said.

No matter who is picking up the bill, shoppers may balk at some of the 1980s looks on the runways. Quite a few Milan designers seemed to think that creating excitement required outlandish designs based on that decade's exaggerated lines. We saw multiple takes on huge, wide shoulders. Ferre designers Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi did them squared off with a fold of fabric wrapped from back to front -- extraordinary tailoring. Gucci did them on cropped jackets, exaggerating the football-player look. Dolce & Gabbana did them big and poofy -- more Elizabethan than '80s. Waists were often pinched under the huge shoulders. Pants were cropped at the ankle and pleated at the hip -- not a flattering look on many women as it shortens and broadens their legs.

Investment dressing it was not. The fashion world has been toying with the 1980s for the past year, ever since Marc Jacobs sent out a playfully '80s-inspired collection a year ago. But I can't help thinking the clothes will look entirely out of date within a year, maybe two. That's what happened with my own suits and jackets from the 1980s, which wilted like cut flowers when that era was over. The '80s weren't flattering to women's figures, and many women later recalled them with a shudder.

"My clients won't go for the literal translation of the '80s looks on the runways," says Kelly Golden, owner of the high-end Neapolitan boutique in Chicago. "They want something that they can wear now and in future seasons."

To get a read on consumer response to the shows, I asked consultants Zeta Interactive, based in New York City, to use their Zeta Buzz technology to measure the so-called buzz surrounding a handful of high-profile

Jil Sander offered bold art but also wearable, minimal looks.
Milan shows on more than 100 million blogs, message boards, social media posts and other Internet outlets.

Prada had the highest overall volume of chatter, with Bottega Veneta coming in second, according to Zeta. When it came to the tone of the posts, though, Bottega Veneta had the most positive posts -- 98% were positive. Gucci had the worst tonal rating, with 61% positive.
And despite the inarguable skill involved in the design and tailoring of many of these garments, many store buyers were looking for alternatives to the '80s look by week's end. As a colleague and I left Versace's early show on Monday night, Bloomingdale's fashion director Stephanie Solomon was racing into the later show. "How was it?" she called. "Don't tell me more '80s!"
That might be why the Jil Sander collection, designed by Raf Simons, was well received. The first part of the collection was pure Jil Sander daywear to the core -- minimal, strong lines on suits and dresses of fine melton wool and wool crepe -- with flat shoes. What followed was an artist's take, inspired by the late French ceramist Pol Chambost. The clothes curved like sculpture, some supported by whalebone hoops, using materials including starched wool, techno foams, scuba jerseys and a wool tweed coated with gold dust.

The patterns required such precision that Mr. Simons brought out his pattern cutter for a bow. For such elaborate work, Mr. Simons said, "We have to honor them."

Ms. Golden, the boutique owner, agreed. "The beautiful tailoring seen at Prada and the luxurious fabrics at Jil Sander are great examples of the understated elegance that my clients will be seeking out during this challenging economic time," she said