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Milan: Gucci's lodge luxe

Updated: 2007-01-18 15:33

Milan - One thing you have got to hand to Gucci under the creative direction of Frida Giannini is that this brand knows how to telegraph its punches with polish.

The entrance to its latest men's runway show, staged Tuesday, January 16 in Milan, featured an elegant fireplace built into a massive chimney column in an aged gray stone, the same used on the catwalk of this Cortina d'Ampezzo meets Gstaad inspired collection.

No winter breeze blew through the Gucci showspace, but the clothes were all ideal for a December gale. From the astrakhan duffle coat to the Taiga green woodsman jacket, or the club-going padded ski pants and mountaineer's boot, these duds were made for chilly climes. Even the evening looks were made for sub-freezing temperatures ? one tuxedo came in burgundy Persian lamb.

"I felt winter jet set was right for today, even if the weather has not cooperated," Giannini told FWD, referring to the snow-less winter Europe is having. Thank the Lord there's always dumps of snow in Vail or Aspen, as Gucci turns a pretty winter penny in the USA.

Yet the collection's opening tack was right on the current fashion zeitgeist of Italian British tailoring. But where most other labels' efforts looked stiff, Gucci alone managed to inject some real sex appeal into the look. The opening three window pane check suits, sexy yet not ostentatiously attention-seeking and all worn with fur stoles, were the best cut we've seen in Italy. Think Anglo Gigolo makes a classy entrance.

Using a revamped version of a 1950s artisan's crest, originally trademarked by Guccio Gucci, was also smart. It turned up on great fabric weekend bags, buckles and prints throughout the show, and was even centered on the runway's backdrop.

Giannini also stretched her studio technically, with ergonomic boxing boots done like mountaineers' footwear.

Though the punchy soundtrack remixed Bryan Ferry's classic, "The Same Old Scene," this collection was anything but.