What do Fellini s La Strada and grunge à la Kurt and Courtney have in common? On the surface, not a whole heck of a lot, but that didn t stop Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli from mashing them up for Fall. The designers, who cited the actress Giulietta Masina as the season s muse, like to look to their Italian heritage for inspiration. Flannel shirts and slouchy, stripey cardigans are something new, and they gave this little-sister line an unexpected edge. Ditto the obviously faux fox-fur jackets and another in a showy leopard print they layered over mismatched blouses and miniskirts. The message might ve been stronger had they stuck to those rock-and-roll vibes, but the pieces embellished with simple, almost naive thread embroideries of clowns and other circus characters had a surprising amount of charm. They also had the virtue of being utterly Chiuri and Piccioli s own. More than 20 years after Seattle exploded, grunge seems to come around every couple of seasons. When was the last time the circus came to town?
