Generic Gucci

"You need huge discipline with stores and communications. Image is very important. When you're successful, everyone wanted to carry Gucci. I only sold to Neiman's, Saks. . . . You can get drunk with sales."

Gucci will doubtless continue to turn up in red-carpet photos as celebrities are plied with free handbags and one-of-a-kind gowns. The company may continue to do just fine financially by selling double-G logo wallets to tourists, expensive handbags to soccer moms and classic loafers to those who appreciate their comfort. The Gucci bottom line is not in danger.

But the Gucci legacy that had been reclaimed, the la dolce vita part that had placed the company at the forefront of the fashion pack has been lost again.

Dsquared2, Dolce & Gabbana

Echoes of the old Gucci sensibility drifted down the runway at Dsquared2 on Thursday in a show inspired by "Charlie's Angels." The designers, Dan and Dean Caten, focused on the silhouettes and styles of the 1970s, from three-piece suits and flared jeans to A-line skirts with kick pleats. Frankly, it was the best the '70s have ever looked.

The models' hair, set in soft Breck girl waves, bounced along as the models walked the runway in jean blazers, denim skirts, a crisp white halter dress with gumball buttons, a gray pantsuit with a silver vest and an especially glamorous white jersey gown cinched with a gold patent-leather harness that caged the torso. It was a collection that made fashion fun, but one could also imagine wearing virtually any of the blazers and trousers to an office and feeling polished but not dull.

There was nothing, nothing, nothing dull about the Dolce & Gabbana show Thursday. Not from the front-row celebrity lineup that included Matthew McConaughey, who stars in an eye-catching fragrance advertisement for the brand, to the cowbell-shaped shoulders on the jackets coming down the runway.

The advertisement is mostly about McConaughey and his naked chest, which one assumes has been doused with eau de Dolce. The collection was a marriage of pajamas and baroque style. (No, I'm not making this up. The designers said this is so, and we've got pictures of pajama tops and brocade bell-shaped skirts as proof.)

The slinky blouses looked dramatic juxtaposed with the ornate skirts that were often pinched to the side like a ball of taffy that someone had given a yank. There were luscious jackets with circular sleeves and shoulders that rose up high enough to brush the earlobes.

The colors were magnificent, and the richness enticing. The odd shapes were startling but not off-putting. If you came upon these jackets in a boutique, you'd try them on. You'd twirl in the mirror. And you'd probably put them back on the hangers. But still . . . something would have struck a chord. Perhaps it's the idea of combining extremes: a skirt that's a bacchanal of color, texture and shape, with a languid top meant for bed. And while most folks will never wear those particular clothes, they can be inspired by them.

Fendi, Versace

At the Fendi show later that day, designer Karl Lagerfeld focused on full skirts and waists cinched tight with belts that appeared to be 10 inches wide. The skirts -- and, in some cases, dresses -- were often made of lacelike fabric with geometric cutouts, translucent materials and other fabrics covered in crushed silk flowers.

It was a pretty, genteel collection from a house that specializes in handbags and furs and whose ready-to-wear often looks like a stepchild. This time, the collection had a joyful sensibility.

The season closed with the Versace presentation Thursday night. The collection recalled one of the most memorable dresses created by the late Gianni Versace: the gown worn by actress Elizabeth Hurley that was seemingly held together by giant safety pins. The beauty of the scandalous dress was that it revealed nothing while making the revelation of everything a constant threat.

The collection presented by his sister, Donatella Versace, who now heads the label, used zippers as both functional closures and decorative flourishes. They provided a similar peekaboo effect. On her daytime dresses, which the rest of the world would wear for cocktails, the zippers were open and sculpted into the shape of hearts.

In celebration of the house's 30th anniversary, the signature Medusa head was incorporated into illustrations by Julie Verhoeven. In the resulting prints, the heads have been re-imagined in pastel shades and cast against a fanciful backdrop that is more Alice in Wonderland than Gorgon.

The print is used on short dresses with sculpted skirts that stand away from the body as well as on gowns encrusted with crystals at the bodice. It is a collection that speaks to the Versace style, not as it was but as it has evolved in the hands of Donatella Versace. It is proof that just because a house has moved on from its past, it doesn't have to lose its panache.