Wrapping Up Milan

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• Wrapping Up Milan
Two trends were apparent at the end of the spring fashion week: the dress is in, and tailoring is out


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An arresting juxtaposition of high tech fabrics and old world craftmanship is on display in Milan


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Miuccia Prada's wrapped rugged belt is copied almost immediately, while the star of the spring season just might be fabric


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Giorgio Armani goes back to his basic navy blue, while a young fashion talent reinterprets Burberry


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Milan's Spring 2007 Fashion Week ended with a whisper on Saturday with both Angela Missoni and Roberto Cavalli showing collections that were surprisingly soft and low-key—the former experimenting with silk kimono shapes and a feminine new camo print that included lily pads; the latter displaying his billowing romantic dresses and sexy corsets against a backdrop of a Florentine Piazza.

Cavalli's models wore flat sandals, too, which gave them an unusually down-to-earth style.

Amidst the highly contrasted trends on runways—from girlish mod mini-dresses to sexy '80s-style corsets—two things are certain: the dress is the most important item of the season and tailoring is not in fashion. "I don't know why, but it is not about tailoring," said Miuccia Prada, sitting in her spare office on the Via Bergamo. "Perhaps it's because young people are just not into that."

The only tailoring that did show up—and it was razor-sharp—was on Donatella Versace's runway, where coats and dresses had a pared-down, almost minimalist feel. Versace gave the fashion crowd something else to write home about on Friday night: an hour-long live Prince performance.