Butch? Hardly, but there was a surreal country boy subtext to Donatella Versace's pre-fall collection. The silhouette was tight up top and fitted all the way down to the kicky little flare the Italians call svasato. So far, so femme. But then there were dungaree straps and jeans pockets on one dress, boots with metal toe caps and cowboy heels, fringing on bags, and a denim blue as the dominant accent in the collection, from the fox collar on a raccoon coat to the little blue Medusa head on the bags. OK, so the country boy connection is a little wingy, but there was a suggestive co-opting of man style. The fabrics, for instance. Classic suiting stuff like pied-de-poule showed up as a techno silk trench. Houndstooth was exploded on navy and white silk mohair knits. A Prince of Wales check skirt was interrupted by a band of lace. And a duffel coat shrank to a tiny red jacket with red patent toggles and a detachable patent/sheepskin hood with a Courrèges visor. With its flared skirt and boots to the thigh, the outfit was utterly Poptimistic, which means it spoke for the whole collection.
