Fausto Puglisi admitted to a case of nerves before his show today. Since he arrived on the Milan Fashion Week scene three years ago, embroideries have been his stock in trade: bold, brassy, and full-throttle. Possessing as strong a signature as Puglisi does is something of a mixed blessing. We all love a designer with a recognizable voice, but sooner or later that voice starts to sound familiar. Puglisi’s new collection for Spring represented his biggest step yet away from the embellishments with which he made his name; hence the nerves.
Citing Madame Grès and Halston as reference points, Puglisi embraced silk jersey with a hand so supple, so liquid that it has to be touched to be appreciated. But even without copping a feel, you could tell he was up to something new and different with a draped ivory gown boasting an asymmetrical cape straight out of ancient Greek statuary. We expect to see that dress making the rounds this awards season: It was that soigné. Other goddess dresses in that same material, be they short, or suspended from a bandeau bathing suit top, or in a bright combination of red, white, and blue struck a more expected note. They weren’t bad; they just didn’t have that element of surprise.
In the end, this collection wasn’t a complete departure anyway. There were scads of Puglisi’s beloved embroideries, but he gave them a novel spin, mixing honest-to-goodness seashells with sprays of multicolor rhinestones, part Malibu, part Dallas, with some fine Italian-made intarsia knits thrown into the mix. Not for the timid, but then that’s never been the Puglisi way. We have a hunch that the encrusted cowboy boots, if he winds up retailing them, could become a mini cult hit.
