Massimo Giorgetti is Milan's official rising star, as a throng of breathless 20-something Italians pushing their way into his show last night proved beyond a doubt. The designer's winning formula has been his ability to condense high fashion themes into low(er) price packages, creating a sturdy middle ground that knocks the socks off those cheap finds found at Zara and H&M. Print and surface detail have been his key weapons in his speedy ascent, but this season the Milan-based designer relied more on unusual layering to achieve his new look. Leather leggings and patent leather tassel-topped flat mules, both of which were thrown under half of the looks, lowered the quotient of MSGM's signature femininity and instead added a street edge this season. But underneath the layers of shiny, latex skirting and mirror-crusted sweatshirts, there were plenty of nuggets of refinement. A skirt dangled with lovely light-as-air metal coins, while a camel hair coat faded brilliantly to needle punched soft pink astrakhan. Our favourite part of the collection was Giorgetti's trick blending jacquards with prints. The pieces that opened his show, for example, featured wonderfully crinkled jacquard backs that bled seamlessly into digitised prints that dripped with pattern. They were just the sort of thing that shows what Giorgetti can achieve technically without breaking his clients' bank accounts.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
