Controlled. Historically, that hasn't been a word you'd associate with the eccentric Francesco Scognamiglio. But that's exactly how his Spring show looked tonight, partially bared breasts and exposed underpinnings notwithstanding. Scognamiglio refined his approach this season by zeroing in on a single idea, the trousseau of a woman from the 1920's, and then reimagining the ivory, peach, and mint blue lace you might find there for a woman of today. Out went the theoretical sack dresses and in came wantable racerback tanks and pencil skirts; bow-neck blouses and neatly tailored trousers; and ruffled hourglass frocks. The caveat, and it's a fairly big one: Everything was either made in peekaboo lace or featured sheer insets strategically placed for maximum exposure, or both. Above the waist, that's nothing a delicate bra couldn't fix, but below it, you've got to think that it'd be a deal breaker for most women—though not perhaps for Lady Gaga, a confirmed Scognamiglio fan.
So why the accolades? For one, it was well executed, and for another, a lot of it looked individual, despite the fact that lace has been in constant rotation since Miuccia Prada fell for the stuff several years ago. A long, bias-cut peach column gown with black lace appliqués and moonstone cabochons would be stunning on Gaga. But Scognamiglio can do simple, too—case in point: a slightly mannish black blazer worn over a minidress in the same peach lace.
