MISSONI: TRYING TO BE YOUNG

After a couple of dowdy collections in a row, it was about time Missoni attempted something more youthful. Certainly the abbreviated hemlines, strapless mini dresses and tailored shorts were the kind of things that only the young could wear. The question is will they want to? The muted colours (mid-gray, sludgy yellow, moss green) looked downbeat not fresh. Things livened up when dresses and skirts came heavily embellished with gold embroidery and semi-precious stones (in homage to Gustav Klimt) but this intense detailing went against the season's prevailing trend for lightness and fluidity. In that respect, a section of maxi dresses which hinted at the Marie Helvin exotic, disco diva look fared better, but all in all it looked like a label trying to be young and not quite succeeding.