Alessandro Dell'Acqua ticked all the boxes for spring 2006: polo shirt, white jeans, cropped tailoring, washed leathers, evening details for day (a satin stripe on the lapel of a white suit, for instance, or a pleated shirt-front). But he took as his inspiration Steve McQueen, the ultimate boy racer in the 1968 classic Bullitt, and that gave his show a little aerodynamic zest all of its own. The way a jacket was ruched to limn the body suggested that speed was of the essence, as did trousers heavily seamed and zipped at the ankle, and sneakers sparkling with reflective strips. Shorts came in the form of denim cutoffs, and there were other hints of Americana in retro-printed shirts. What looked best were the colors, particularly Dell'Acqua's signature flesh tones and a tobacco shade.
