Veronica Etro took a trip down the Silk Road today. Hailing from an Italian family known for its fine textiles, she was particularly well equipped for the journey. But this collection's satisfactions went beyond Etro's famous paisleys. It was the designer's most accomplished show to date, confident in its layering of textures, patterns, colors, and embroideries, and chock-full of fall trends like blanket dressing and shearling.
Veronica has long had a knack for sussing out which direction fashion is heading and putting an Etro gloss on that. What made this collection stand apart from previous ones was the list of special pieces that women will want to pull from the sometimes-heady mix on the runway to wear and wear. Backstage the designer was talking about timelessness, and more than a handful of the coats and dresses here had the feeling of an exquisite vintage find: a copper and black dévoré velvet dress shot through with shimmery Lurex, an almost weightless silk chiffon number in a tapestry print woven with thick stripes of gold, a wool coat paneled here and there with intricate thread embroideries.
Amid all that finery, a couple of fox-fur jackets looked like too much; a long wool paisley coat lined with mink was just as luxurious, but more discreet. Elsewhere, Veronica did a smart job of balancing the riches of her materials with easy, flowing silhouettes. We can think of a lot of girls who'd like to go on this journey with her.
