Gucci A/W 2014

Female models dressed in the Guccii A/W 2014 backstage of the fashion show — (Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

The first clue to Frida Giannini's new pared-down aesthetic this season came in the form of her usual Milan show space, which had been coated in an unusually brilliant white. The clean walls and runway underfoot made for a rousing canvas from which her sharply drawn, reductivist collection popped. Giannini's silhouettes were borrowed liberally from the 1960s and centered around Mod-like skinny pants (including a jean) and mini skirt dresses with sharp A-line cuts. The latter were beautifully rendered in dusty shades of sage, mustard and rose with sleeveless leather panelled tops and matching crepe skirts. The new cropped lengths allowed Giannini to play with low, block-heeled knee boots brandished with Gucci's famous horsebit hardware, a metal game that was later played across dress fronts. The boots, like the rest of the breezy sportswear inflected collection, were made not just for walking but also conveniently for sitting, standing, running, dancing and all the other activity sensible women do every day. It's refreshing to see Giannini go back to her levelheaded, feminine roots - to the simplicity, in fact, of her very first collections for Gucci. A clean, no-nonsense womanly aesthetic suits this designer. It allows for the occasional frippery, like Mongolian fur, shaggy goat hair and shaved mink, all in shades of powder pink, to be swallowed as easily and pleasantly as a gumdrop.

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

JJ Martin