Luisa Beccaria took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather in Milan by staging her show outdoors. Guests gathered in the park behind the neoclassical Villa Reale, where the designer had laid out white parasols to shield them from the blazing sun.
It proved the perfect setting for her garden-themed spring collection, which played off the contrast between geometric trellis patterns and rambling floral motifs.
The lattice theme played out in guises ranging from a woven waffle iron pattern on stiff princess gowns to a watery hand-painted check on a pastel organza blouse. It was echoed, on a micro scale, in gingham cotton dresses with crocheted lace insets and jacquard coats in a patchwork pattern of abstract parterres.
Beccaria indulged her romantic leanings via dresses with tulle overlays embroidered with satiny blooms, and ruffled gowns in faded butterfly prints. She sought to temper their sometimes cloying prettiness with kooky touches like bird’s nest hair and soundtrack extracts from “Edward Scissorhands.”
In the end, simplicity proved the best antidote, in particular the robe coats that topped several of the looks. Ruffle-hemmed pajama pants, worn with a matching bra top and dressing gown coat, were both sweet and modern.
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