Milan applause boosts Prada revival hopes

Prada's hopes of turning around its flagging fortunes were bolstered on Thursday when designer Miuccia Prada's latest womenswear collection was given a warm reception at Milan fashion week.

The spring-summer 2017 catwalk show was hosted against the backdrop of a multi-screen film installation on which the designer collaborated with American writer/director David O. Russell.

The silent dreamscape of what Prada called a "cinema poem" set a somewhat sombre tone -- but the collection ended to the upbeat sound of loud and sustained applause from the audience of buyers, bloggers and assorted others.

That would have been music to the ears of executives at a company which has been hit hard by a slowdown in Asia but vowed last month that 2017 would be a year of e-commerce-led revival.

The collection that will be tasked with leading that revival featured models sporting 1920s-style bobs strutting down a metallic catwalk in flat sandals decorated with ostrich feathers.

Colourful feathers of all kinds abounded on collars and cuffs.

There were some checked mannish jackets but also lots of hot pants and micro-minis.

In one of the most most memorable looks, black belted hotpants were paired with a bra top worn over a checked blouse, itself covering a black rollneck.

Bags were clutched close to the models like precious papers.

Prada chairman Carlo Mazzi forecast last month the company would return to sales and earnings growth in 2017 after taking the scissors to its cost base.

That bullish prediction was issued after first half sales fell 15 percent and the company has set itself the ambitious target of doubling online turnover in each of the next three years.

- Glitter lips, big pants -

Fendi designer Karl Lagerfeld meanwhile recruited superstar models Gigi and Bella Hadid to help him unveil his two key looks for next summer: glitter lips and now-you-see-them, now-you-don't big pants.

The veteran German designer's latest collection was a playful affair -- or "decorative opulence twisted with an athletic elan," as he put it in his notes to the Roman house's 2017 Spring/Summer collection.

Tennis champion Serena Williams provided some sporting star power to the front row, chatting animatedly with fashion Godmother Anna Wintour and veteran style correspondent Suzy Menkes.

Adding to the celebrity star dust, the Hadid sisters pouted their glitter-coated lips obligingly for the backstage cameras to highlight a look that Lagerfeld revealed had been inspired by a cartoon princess: Vanellope von Schweetz from "Wreck-It Ralph".

After years in which many of fashion trendsetters have seemed obsessed with getting young women to bear their nipples to the world, Lagerfeld's take on showing off your knickers was all about the fabrics rather than skin-tone.

Asymetric, layered mini-dresses allowed only occasional flashes of underpants cut like track shorts of an Olympic sprinter.

But floating aprons and ribbon-tied gowns left less to the imagination from what fashionistas will presumably now have to call the rear view.

Dresses were frequently pinched at the waist, enhancing the transparency of cascading sheer materials. Where fewer see-through textiles were deployed slashes up the side kept the lingerie on show. A body top was paired with a sheer skirt fastened by a bow over the derriere.

The colour palette was designed to catch the eye: apricot, blush pink and pale mint were combined with sporty stripes in scarlet, burgundy and marigold.

"In terms of innovation and research, this was one of the best collections we have ever produced," Fendi CEO told Pietro Beccari told reporters.

The same playful spirit was to be found in Massimo Giorgetti's colourful collection for Pucci and Max Mara, for whom the Hadid sisters also did a turn, appeared to be predicting a heatwave for the warmer months of 2017.

Figure-hugging jersey dresses and tight nylon leggings gave the latter's practical collection a sexy edge.