The sight of an A-list lineup of editors and buyers trooping into a 6267 show at 8:30 p.m. on a cold Milan night (and after Prada, too) is proof of the industry s goodwill toward any sign of young life springing up in this city. 6267 s Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi, a pair of ex-MaxMara designers, have earned a certain level of respect from the international fashion community in the past couple of years: They have a handle on the "Made in Italy" quality that cuts it in major department stores, and as the show started, hopes were high that they d be able to put over something fresh.
Did they succeed? In part. The collection was inspired, they said, by Josef Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstätte—a sort of black-and-white alternative to the gilded exoticism of Gustav Klimt, which has been gaining so much currency elsewhere this season. The first look—a narrow black maxi coat with a raised waist and a high, furled collar—and a couple of columnar print dresses later in the show, put Aquilano and Rimondi in sync with the emerging feeling for longer lengths. Their concentration on working neatly tailored jackets and a skinny-leg pant widening to a slight flare also proved an awareness of directional trends. Still, as a whole, the designers use of diagonal windowpane check; a narrow, poufed shoulder line; tubular trimmings on necklines; flat bows; and silver buttons was too derivative of Nicolas Ghesquière s Balenciaga. These guys undoubtedly have talent, but, like so many other young designers, they need to articulate what they want to say in a voice of their own. Holding back from overworking their things would be one step in the right direction—as would getting out to experience the world a bit more. Milan is still a great city in which to make clothes of quality, but it s also a provincial place from which it s not always easy to grasp the bigger picture.
