Milan Fashion Week started off with an exciting bang when Frida Giannini showed her eye-catching, colorful, and diverse collection for Gucci. Colors toned down after the first nine looks, and overall, the line offered the Gucci woman a wide spectrum of options for Spring 2011.
The opening pieces featured saturated teal, green, violet, and orange hues. Gold python belts, cinched at the waists, gave the look a color-blocked effect by separating the vibrant-colored sections of the outfits. Giannini, who pointed to David Bailey, Chris von Wangenheim, and Guy Bourdin’s late 70s photographs as the inspiration behind her loud colors, allowed her chest-exposing silhouettes to speak for themselves by keeping the hair slicked back and the embellishments to a minimum.
The designer successfully delivered her theme of “sophisticated seduction.” It wasn’t surprising that some
of Giannini’s more over-the-top looks in the collection, such as a deeply dipped color-blocked jumpsuit, were considered a hit. After all, Gucci has been known to go overboard in the va-va-voom department in the past.
The collection then progressed into a slew of chic, desert-toned, safari-meets-the-70s looks, complete with fringes and nods to Gucci’s equestrian heritage (particularly with the embroidered riding jackets). Aside from the progression of bold to soft colors, Giannini also focus on details – notably, the hardware.
The designer finished the Gucci collection with gold accented, gorgeous black looks, and a handful of shimmering, colored cocktail numbers. The pieces that ended the show, given their intricately crafted nature, looked as if they could pass as part of the Gucci Premiére collection.
