Anger is rarely pretty - a fact that explains the unpleasant state of so many of the autumn clothes unveiled in Italy's fashion capital this month.
Designers have plenty to be upset about, considering that the global economy is spiralling downward.
Out of that disgruntlement has come a longing for more decadent times and a desire to lash out - only there's no-one readily available to absorb the blows. One can't exactly kick AIG in the knees. The angry zeitgeist has led designers back to the 1980s.
For the northern autumn, designers have taken a shine to more pronounced shoulders, the hard-rock style reminiscent of hair bands such as Metallica, the sexual aggressiveness of the era and a vulgarity that grows out of insecurity and fear. The missing element in all of this '80s regurgitation has been the hedonistic pleasure that made that period seem so glittering and fabulous.
The irony of the fashion industry looking back 20 years is that the '80s were not a particularly attractive time for clothes. Although women were flexing their power, they did not look especially good doing it in acid-washed jeans, teased hair and puffy skirts.
The designers of the day popularised tailoring so razor-sharp that it could draw blood if folks pushed in too close in a crowd. This was the "greed is good" period of fashion.
At Milan, designer Roberto Cavalli noted, in a statement, that he believes in looking a recession in the eye and fighting back. Presumably a woman should do that while wearing one of his black jersey studded dresses or a pair of lace-up black jeans.
The designer has had his share of problems this season. The Italian company that produces his secondary line, Just Cavalli, filed for bankruptcy protection and the designer announced that he was cancelling his Milan show.
A few days later, the licensee filed a lawsuit against the designer for publicly maligning it. (His signature collection was unveiled as planned.)
Few of the designers made much of a success of this '80s revival. Anger can inspire and motivate. But more often than not, the anger was self-defeating.
When styles are revived, there are two firm rules:
1. They should never return in precisely the same way. They must be tweaked to appeal to modern eyes or combined with something else to make them fresh.
2. They must look more expensive than anything that could be pieced together with a little help from the local off-the-rack store. Which brings the conversation to Versace, who pulled it off.
The show marked the informal finale to Milan Fashion Week. The collection included jersey dresses that slithered around the body and were held in place by metallic silver belts. The coats were lush and chunky; a particularly fine black one was splattered with sapphire sparkles.
The gowns fitted the models perfectly - a surprisingly rare feat in the fashion industry - and the silk or jersey fabric was often interrupted with coin-size paillettes laid out like scales, that added structure to an otherwise fluid silhouette. And there were gowns with curving cut-outs tacked together with metal bars - a reference to the safety-pin dress made famous by model Elizabeth Hurley in 1994.
Creative director Donatella Versace took many of the best aspects of the '80s - the wilful debauchery, the exuberance and the rise of the powerful woman - and made them relevant and desirable in 2009.
People have talked about what is appropriate attire in these times, but the reality is that they aren't worried about whether their clothes look too expensive or lavish but whether the clothes make them look strident, uncaring and disengaged from reality.
Will some designer frock make them look like one of those executives who didn't understand that taking employees on a lavish spa retreat after receiving bailout money is not only crass but stupid?
No-one wants to look like the imbecile who just doesn't get it.
Designer Consuelo Castiglioni faced down those obstacles and created a collection for Marni that spoke of richness and luxury, with extensive use of fur and jewellery constructed of 24-carat gold and semi-precious stones. Yet her silhouettes are soft and welcoming.
There's nothing wrong with wealth, but it should be worn like a fragrance. A whiff of it in the room is fine. It should not stink up the joint and linger long after the wearer has left.
That's why collections from Marni, as well as Burberry, Max Mara, Missoni, Prada and Bottega Veneta were so successful this season.
Miuccia Prada offered a collection of weighty tweed skirts and oversize jackets, velvet brocade dresses and embellished coats. There were leather tunics adorned with spangles and fur tunics that evoked The Flintstones, woman-as-huntress and no small amount of head-scratching confusion.
Still, the collection offered a strong and enticing way to stand up to the depressing toll of a recession without the self-destructive rage.
- Robin Givhan.
