Daily Front Row

2010 February 25

Runway Reviews: Fendi, Just Cavalli

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Fendi Fall 2010
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Fendi
If there was any doubt that Fall's dominant trend is fur, it was extinguished on the first day of Milan Fashion Week, when Karl Lagerfeld showed even more Fendi animals than usual. Anja Rubik started things off with a white alligator coat endowed with a mink collar and two grey mink panels. There were a few straightforward styles, such as a belted plain-front shearling and another belted lynx, but Fendi's notorious innovation with this material--the fur-as-fabric concept--rang through. A patchwork leather-and-fur jacket will cater to Fendi's increasingly young clientele, while demure short-sleeved swing coats--mink, of course--will appeal to all ages. On the ready-to-wear front, the pants were narrow, skirts and jackets were swingy and circle-shaped, and preppy shades of navy and yellow dominated. The bags, of course, were carried with nearly every look--and when those best-sellers are done in rainbow shades of shaved mink, well, watch out.

Just Cavalli
As usual, Roberto Cavalli's diffusion line shows a mixed bag of influences, and this season, he juxtaposed early nineties grunge with eighties-era punk to overall stiumulating effect. First and foremost, kilts are back. They can be red and yellow plaid, or army green, or even leopard-print (yes, really!) but please, loves--make them short. Naturally, Cavalli paired them with patchwork sweaters and/or cropped leather bomber jackets to undercut the schoolgirl effect. Several quilted jackets and padded minidresses strayed from this theme, as did the strong-shouldered brocade military coats. The real dazzler was a leather bomber with sweater-knit sleeves and a fully stuffed shearling collar. Expect scores of imitations to show up in the Sohos of the world next Fall.