Alta Roma: Still Living The Dolce Vita
Rome - It sweltered in Rome this week, yet the clothes on the runway of Alta Roma, the city's fashion season, were sturdy enough to withstand a gale force wind and classical enough to fit into a repeat of La Dolce Vita, set in the same date as the original. A curious amalgam of alta moda - that's the Italian version of haute couture - and avant-garde experimentation by young hopefuls, AltaRoma is a state-backed project to create a dynamic season in the Eternal City, and one that shows signs of working. Most critics rated Sunday evening's show by Fausto Sarli as the season's strongest. Inspired by one of nature's mystery, the crop circle, the show had a curvy, retro futurist quality whether with cashmere apple-shaped jackets or mega frilled Art Deco columns for evening. Plus the workmanship was first rate, and the cutting, like a revealing off the shoulder coatdress, admirable. Also impressing was Gattinoni, a 74-year-old house whose creative director Guglielmo Mariotto favored mellifluous mink jackets with sleeves ending at the elbow and delightful patchwork cashmere tweed boleros or redingotes with courtly trim. Frayed fabric sling backs also looked great, as did multi-ruffled evening gowns where gaining attention was the key point of wearing the clothes. His is a tricky fashion the little black dress came with a built on cape but it had a certain Mediterranean panache one could only applaud. Understated is not an Alta Moda tradition as was evident at the 40-minute long show by Raffaella Curiel, who herself took a five minute bow. Mega padded riding jackets, knitted fur boleros and flounced Paisley pleated skirts all look warm enough for a Finnish winter, and were in stark contrast to the stifling heat in the Borgo Santo Spirito in Sassia, a char |
