For her Spring 2004 show, Anna Molinari designer Rosella Tarabini imagined a romantic girl putting together a look for Glastonbury, the English summer music festival which these days is less about mud and sleeping bags than it is about VIP tents and paparazzi. Tarabini dipped into granny’s attic for a haul of lacy, vintage-style dresses and lingerie layers, cut off at the thigh and worn with flat fringed moccasin boots. Done in fragile cream and dusty pink, these pieces were embellished with precious flower embroideries, crystal beading, or the odd little layer of feather cropping up among the flounces in the skirts. Cover-ups came in the form of tweedy, beige, Chanel-like coats and jackets that appeared to have been run through the wash several times in order to look suitably secondhand.
Tarabani added a touch of grit to the mix with what she described as “tribal” accessories (shell-festooned leather belts and crafty necklaces) and a section of black, Patti Smith–inspired washed leather jeans, suede tabards, and oversized chiffon tops. But for the most part this is, as always, a collection of dresses for pretty young things, with a seasonal twist to keep it all current. The sheer repetition made for something of a trance-inducing performance, but it’s a sweet enough groove for a summer night’s fantasy.
