Francesco Scognamiglio has hired a new international press officer, and more out-of-town editors than ever came to his show, but that didn t mean he was going to ratchet down the kink factor. Not a chance. In his otherwise strong show s most perverse moment, a model strolled the runway in a face-obscuring muzzlelike mask made of three-dimensional gold stars by Philip Treacy. The famous milliner s breast-exposing metal corset was a close second. Citing Madonna, Jennifer Connelly, and Diane Kruger, who ve all worn his designs in magazine editorials, Scognamiglio claimed stars as the collection s organizing motif. They appeared as hardware accentuating the already strong shoulders of his jackets, as clusters of glinting crystals encrusting a little top worn with a tulip skirt, and as delicate points of light on a silvery satin skirtsuit.
As concepts go, it was a little obvious, too easy. In any case, Scognamiglio s talents lie less in embellishment than they do in cutting and draping. He delivered a few beauties that involved the latter. The black double-satin jersey gowns are just the sort of body-loving but still elegant things that celebrities want to wear on the red carpet.
