It was a scorcher in the garden of the Palazzo Reale at this afternoon’s Luisa Beccaria show. The paper parasols she placed on each seat did little to stop sweat from dampening the brow—and pretty much every place else. But if the audience was wilting, the models looked plucked from the summer wedding of an Italian principessa, swathed in flower-strewn fil coupe and glowing woven raffia, some of them with tiaras in their hair.
Multiple wedding parties could be outfitted from this pretty collection. Beccaria pointed out backstage that her customers make no real distinction between day and night dressing, a statement backed up by the array of fancy frocks in the front row. To be sure, she makes special-occasion clothes; you’re not running to the market or to the gym, or even to work, in them.
This season, Beccaria was focused on “the hand” of her fabrics, meaning she chose materials with three-dimensional texture in the form of flowers, butterflies (which practically fluttered as the models walked), or overscale checks. The airiness of these dresses doesn’t come across in pictures; they’re best showcased by movement. Elsewhere, the silk embroideries on tulle sheaths were remarkably detailed and lifelike, and the woven raffia of a matching top and skirt set really did look like spun gold. One persistent quibble: Beccaria clearly caters to an aristocratic Italian clan, but her models were simply too narrowly cast.
