Frida Giannini

Frida Giannini must be in a good mood. The sunny palette she employed for Gucci's Spring 2013 collection is indicative of an optimistic state of mind — and after last season's rich, glamorous outing of all black everything, this house needed a happy jolt of color.

The hot pinks, seafoam greens, lemon yellows, and shades of blue Giannini sent down the runway in Milan this afternoon were spot-on trend with this season's wider color story. But where others created volume from the waist down, this designer focused on sleeves and necklines. Ruffles added a flirtatious softness to shirts and dresses — on one, the treatment started at the neck and snaked all the way down the wearer's right arm. Bishop and angel sleeves abounded on solid colored garments, too — and it was hard not to appreciate that these effects weren't extended to the few printed garments in the collection.

But Giannini can still do not-so-basic black. Toward the end of the collection, she phased in two dresses and some separates in the color that incorporated her sleeves and ruffles. They were a lovely homage to Gucci's modern black moment (see: Tom Ford in the late '90s), but we wouldn't have missed them.

Frida Giannini went back to her roots for Gucci's Resort 2013 collection, employing the same Flora print she used in her 1997 debut collection of accessories. Covering everything from a floor-length burgundy gown to a leather shoulder bag, the print's flower-child sentiments align perfectly with the '60s and '70s shapes Giannini created in pastel pink, lavender, and pale blue. The designer said she wanted to espouse "the effortlessness of Marisa Berenson and Veruschka, influenced by a contemporary intuition to wear color and print." She seems to have succeeded on both scores.

Frida Giannini featured a decadent array of dark hues and velvety textures for Gucci's Fall 2012 collection. Inspired by 19th-century romanticism, Giannini created lace-up blouses, sheer tulle Oscars-worthy gowns, and billowy capes. With a color palette that was mainly comprised of black and purple hues, Giannini played up the textural component via velvet, feather embellishments, and jacquard patterns. Meanwhile, moody floral maxi skirts and baggy trousers emoted a casually luxe vibe, further translated in the designers' wide array of coats and jackets, ranging from an oversized shearling rendition to an elegant velvet wrapped blazer.

• Trends: Velvet, sheer dresses, baggy trousers, romanticism, leather.
• Colors: Black, purple, green, blue, dark burgundy.
• Key Piece: The sheer embellished gowns immediately caught our undivided attention.
• Accessories: Jeweled bow hair clips designed by Frida Giannini, suede peep-toe ankle boots, leather pumps. embossed leather satchels, leather gloves, knee-high boots.
• Who Would Wear It: Red-carpet stunners like Jennifer Lopez and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

Glamour, Milanese style: Gucci kicked off Milan Fashion Week with a show that was heavy on metallics and fringe. The 20s theme we saw in New York — literal Gatsby references at Ralph Lauren, theatrical and abstract at Marc Jacobs — got its sleekest turn yet with Frida Giannini's take on the Art Deco architecture, shown via boxy, tailored jackets, drop-waist dresses decorated with red-carpet ready fringe, and colorblocked prints. It happens to be the luxury house's 90th birthday this year; it was started in the 1920s, coincidentally, so this collection pays homage to the period in a very modern way.

• Trends: 20s, drop-waist dresses, fringe, colorblocking, split-bottom pants.
• Colors: gold, ivory, black, emerald, camel.
• Key Piece: the sequin colorblocked drop-waist dresses with fringe will rock on the red carpet.
• Accessories: peep-toe ankle strap stilettos, python bags, one in an emerald green.
• Who Would Wear It: we'll see the dresses on retro-glam girls like Kirsten Dunst and Nicole Richie; the more tailored pieces would be great on fashion-forward sophisticates like Julia Restoin-Roitfeld or even her mom, Carine.

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