What's Italian For Ouch?

Male Designers Pull Out a Trunkful Of Misogyny in Milan

MILAN Italian designers -- specifically the men -- are in a bad mood, and they're taking it out on women.

Perhaps they are angry about a world filled with violence and instability. It might be that they are frustrated that the Italian government has fallen yet again. Could it be global warming and the widening hole in the ozone? Or maybe their mamas simply did not hug them enough when they were children?

When the fall 2007 shows ended here Friday, the facts could not be denied. The anger was palpable. The objectification was extreme. The clothes were mean. And it was always the men who were responsible. Far too many male designers thrust their provocative, distressing and unflattering fantasies onto the backs of women.

At Dolce & Gabbana, the designer duo seemed deeply conflicted about the role of women in society. Whore or madonna? Based on their runway presentation, as well as a photo exhibit that opened last week and examined their erotic dreams, one could interpret their take on womanhood as: My mother was a widowed mafia mistress.

At DSquared, mean-spirited oppressiveness was masquerading as a sophisticated joke. At Belstaff there were aesthetic abominations such as tight leather jumpsuits. The designer Giles Deacon, in his first show for DAKS -- an old-line British firm -- put women in shaggy sweaters and headgear that looked like slabs of plaster that cracked off the ceiling.

Can't these brothers, boyfriends, play husbands and "main gays" show a woman a little love and respect?

Donatella Versace

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Only the sophisticated, strong and sexy collection presented Friday evening by Donatella Versace served as a true counterpoint to Milan's descent over the last few days into a quagmire of misogyny.

The first ensemble down the runway at the Versace show was a fitted black blazer with a short black skirt. The fabric hugged the body; it did not accost it. The matte black of the jacket was interrupted with panels of matching iridescence. The model took long strides in her platform pumps. This was the look of intelligence and eroticism that the men had only been able to conjure in the form of a clich?. Versace gave her audience an image of a woman who was mysterious, sexy and strong. But she did not look like Lara Croft, "Matrix" woman or an "X"-girl. These were clothes, not costumes.

One after another, Versace's models paraded out in clothes that were simple but beautifully cut. They hugged the waist and celebrated the hips. They sent up a cheer for a fine hourglass figure. There was a simple sheath in shocking coral worn with a black patent leather belt. The waistline of a white coat was imbedded with silver crystals, and the cuffs were dipped in white fur.

Versace did not dress women up like unconvincing drag queens -- all big hair, false eyelashes and trussed bosom. Men, are you listening? Versace offered grown-up glamour -- the kind that was nurtured by Hollywood, Barbies, rock stars and the cool girl in elementary school who was the first to get her training bra.

When Donatella Versace took over the label after the death of her brother Gianni in 1997, she talked of bringing a woman's influence to the collection. Initially, there were only hints of that shifting sensibility. A decade after his death, that feminine hand is unequivocally present.

The silver-chain-mail mini dresses are cut low in the back evoke a kind of fizzy energy. The evening gowns offer the perfect balance between being sexy but also chic. They are provocative, but also feminine.