“Welcome to my world,” wrote Antonio Berardi in his press release. He meant it literally: The small show was held in his turn-of-the-century parquet-floored studio in a residential quarter of Milan. Berardi’s been showing in London for a long time, but this English-born Italian has been living around the corner from his workplace for years. He said he’d made the decision to narrow down his statement—there were 23 looks versus last season’s 44—to give his audience a closer look at the detail of what he does.
Good move, because Berardi is a super-skilled cutter whose design flair is fully on show when he sets about modernizing eveningwear. Midway through the show, there was a Moment: a high-waisted streak of silvered, snakeskin-patterned velvet with a black lace décolleté, covered with a long black cloak. An elegant Academy Awards entrance-maker if ever we saw one.
Taking this demi-couture tack, Berardi explored his ideas about dignity, strength, and fashion as protection—themes many designers are currently probing. Some of the micro-studded surface embellishment and square-cut, layered shapes of the outerwear seemed to have been abstracted from armor. Even within such a condensed collection, there was a lot of variety—voluminous lightweight taffeta skirts with open sides paired with sweaters, fluttery chiffon dresses, and blouses over trousers. Sitting up close on gold chairs, the audience did indeed get a better appreciation of the character of his design, and the structural subtleties of such details as the black chiffon edging he inserted in place of the tuxedo stripes in a pair of black pants. Nevertheless, along with the grand silver gown—a guaranteed showstopper for a one-off public event—it was his emerald green velvet trouser suit that won the most self-identification from the women watchers. When Berardi holds back from over-complication, the more likely he is to produce clothes that offer practical longevity. In times when there are just too many clothes in the world, that combination of simplicity and quality is exactly what women are looking for. 
