Backstage before his show, Albino D'Amato said he was inspired by photographs of his grandmother on safari in the twenties. If that has you thinking Meryl Streep as Karen Blixen in Out of Africa, think again—unless you can picture Streep in a toile de Jouy jungle-print gazar, cut as a blouse with matching full trousers. That was a bit in your face, as was another questionable print used on pajamas, but for the most part Albino displayed a soft touch. The desert-hued short-sleeve oversize mackintosh that opened the show, for example, looked timeless without being retro.
Of course, Albino's savanna adventuress doesn't actually need to negotiate sand dunes or any other natural obstacles; his killer metallic Art Deco wedge heels are designed for city gals with limos, not beat-up Land Rovers. And talking of getting around, a girl's all but guaranteed a lot of mileage from his drapey jersey zip-front dresses with cowled backs. As sexy as they were easy, they made a simple, elegant canvas for Albino's bold ethnic-Deco necklaces. This show traversed some bumpy terrain, but those accessories were a highlight.
