The 60s and 70s influence fall-winter 2011 collections at Milan Fashion Week

A little 1960s, a little 1970s and a lot of color. Here's a recap of the best from the first two days of fall-winter 2011 runway shows at Milan Fashion Week.

D&G

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have a formula when it comes to their secondary collection, D&G. They take one theme and milk it for all it's worth.

This season, it was alphabet prints splashed on leggings, tees, oversized sweaters, boyfriend jackets, chiffon shirts and maxi-dresses. In traffic cone orange, taxicab yellow and fluro pink, the letters were Pop Art on the runway, whooshing by like computer code on the information superhighway. The theme continued all the way down to the jewelry - necklaces and bracelets dangling plastic letter charms.

It made for a cute commentary on today's information overload, even if the collection was a bit elementary.

Fendi

After years in the ready-to-wear doldrums, the Fendi collection keeps getting better and better.

For fall, the look was English countryside by way of the art studio. That meant relaxed, smock-like coats with colorful piping, worn with ankle-length pants, all in autumnal shades of rust, moss and mustard.

Sheer plaid blouses and little black dresses came with detachable jabots with wool ruffles that resembled paper cutouts. There were also patchwork furs, color-blocked croc coats and a great inside-out shearling.

For cocktail hour, off-the-shoulder little black dresses came with sheer, blousy, sparkly sleeves.

Accessories included quirky headbands, block-heeled shoes, colored stockings and structured, high-polished calf bags with top handles.

This was a collection built on graphic lines and shapes, as if designers Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Fendi had drawn it with pen on paper. Even the models' hair was given an artists' touch - their untidy updos were tinged with bright color.

Prada

Showing her collection against the backdrop of a two-story, dollhouse-like set, Miuccia Prada brought childlike wonder back to fashion.

The collection revolved around short coats and coat dresses with low-slung belts, oversized buttons and a 1960s vibe. They came in powdery colors, sheer solids or windowpane checks, decorated with contrast piping, shag fur or silver-dollar-sized paillettes that jingled when models walked.

There was a homespun, Butterick-pattern feel to these clothes, a sweet naivete that harkened back to a time before luxury brands had name recognition with toddlers, when style and fashion were learned at home.

Shown with glittery, two-tone boots with Mary Jane-style straps, plush caps with chin straps, and goggle glasses, the collection built on the mod trend we saw at Burberry in London.

But more than that, as the models clutched their handbags close like teddy bears, it was a reminder of how we all fell in love with fashion in the first place - as children playing with dolls and dollhouses, dressing in our Sunday best, and thinking our mothers were the most stylish people on the planet.

Gucci

Gucci designer Frida Giannini cited flame-haired songstress Florence Welch as inspiration for her "contemporary female dandies" dressed in dazzling emerald green, fuchsia, purple and teal.

However she cast it, this wasn't exactly new. But with so many designers mining the 1970s recently, it was probably inevitable that Gucci would take its turn. And the clothes were quite pretty - jewel-toned pantsuits, suede skirts that hit below the knee and slim-fitting coats worn with vibrant fur stoles and plumed fedoras. Other accessories included colorful snakeskin pumps and the new Jackie bag with a long, detachable shoulder strap.

Floaty dresses with scarves that tied at the neck came in colorful silk jersey or see-through fabric, slit thigh-high. Glossy black patent leather boots and skirts added another element of kinkiness.

And just when the eye was beginning to tire of so many bushy fur vests, Giannini sent out flowers instead. Capelets, boleros and stoles, thick with organza, chiffon and silk petals, worn over chiffon gowns.

In a show that felt a bit overly merchandised, this was her most creative and surprising moment.

Source from: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/28/2687395/the-60s-and-70s-influence-fall.html