Brevity, and baring tip the scale

And on the second and third days of the Milanese collections, the influence of Silvio Berlusconi was felt throughout fashionland. Whether consciously or not, the Italian prime minister's summer of sex (scandal) has filtered down into designers' imaginations and from there on to the catwalks; there hasn't been this much flesh on display since the first inklings of an economic downturn were felt oh so many seasons ago. Even in spring/summer terms - the real world autumnal equinox may have just passed but in the fashion world we're six months in the well-heated future - the outfits have been notable for brevity, and baring. At Moschino, not one hemline in the entire parade of little pearl-trimmed gold-buttoned skirt suits and giant cherry-print pouf dresses reached below mid-thigh. At Gianfranco Ferré, designers Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi worked and reworked organza, gazar and lamé in increasingly complex wrapped, ruched and degrade bubble dresses that ended . . . just below the groin. Even at Brioni, the house of luxe tailoring took a startling turn via vaguely bondage-like strips criss-crossing torsos and naked backs. Though a simple brown shift was rendered sophisticated by leather shoulder straps, and silk scarf dresses had a slouchy ease, the effect was uncomfortable: tie-me-up/tie-me-down games happening in the home of the necktie. Gianni Versace, who in his 1980s heyday in Milan was the sexual yin to Giorgio Armani's power yang, has been shaping up as the most-referenced designer of the season. Both Pucci and Gucci seemed to pay homage to the body-conscious, skintastic looks of the house of the medusa head, combining their own codes (the print; the horsebit) with an unabashed physicality that was jolting and, occasionally, enlivening. At Pucci, thus, designer Peter Dundas in his second collection served up micro-mini ruched dresses; floor-sweeping chiffons with skirts cut up to here and bandeau tops; sheer chiffon caftans over bathing suits, leggings laced up the side under abbreviated python jackets, and less focus than his predecessors on the bright coloured swirling Pucci patterning that has come to be associated with the house. But that's not necessarily bad. Pucci has its roots in a sexy approach to summer dressing - skin-tight capris and jerseys so slinky they had to be worn sans underpinnings; in many ways, this was a nod to that history. The problem is, between that time and this, the styles have been so co-opted by other designers that although the brand has a legitimate claim on the short and seductive, it seems arriviste.

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