In March, Azzaro parted ways with Vanessa Seward, its longtime designer, and the spot she vacated has not yet been filled. Brand reps promise a revelation in September. But time, tide, and the fashion calendar wait for no man or woman. The studio team, together with an unnamed outside consultant, put together the label's Resort range. It didn't necessarily suggest a distinct new direction for the label—on the contrary, it dug back through the Azzaro archives for inspiration—but it did imply a decisive break with the sixties-leaning, kitten-cute style Seward had proposed. Gone were the bows and the frills; the seventies, not the sixties, were the new decade of choice. Overall, simplicity reigned, gaudied up a bit with metal mesh and jeweled details. (The studio had been thinking of the gems of the Romanovs.) If there wasn't a strong point of view on display, there were enough party dresses to hold fans through the holidays.
