There’s been ‘70s revivals in fashion before, but never have they been so concentrated on high-end catwalks and never have they been crammed in to the first two and a half days of MFW. You’ve got to hand it to Milan though, they sure wanted to shake it up after London, the land of “breakthrough” emerging designers, to show the world they can still ruffle some feathers. It was feathers that Veronica Etro assigned to just that as well, along with beads, amulets and wild shredded fringing. This narrowly avoided becoming a bohemian blur, concretion working to Etro’s advantage because each look actually a studied rendition in the brand’s “haute bohemian” textile design heritage.
They went a little more pseudo-spiritual as well, calling on a more Age of Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in, Doors-y psychedelia, all wrapped up in Navajo ponchos and Kimono jackets. The motley motifs Fistful of Dollars and dreamcatcher necklaces made a logical abettor to Etro’s classic paisley print, so much so that we’ve had a slight change of hearts, if we’re going to do fringe, it’s going to be vibrant Etro fringe. Plus those oversized more poncho than kaftans would be just darling on tropical shores. While Milan has established that they all want to do 1970s this season, Etro has given the variety to that more or less arbitrary drift into the pros of flower power. Now it’s time to see if anyone can top them.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Style.com