Quotes of the Day

Businesses these days are obsessed with outsourcing, and the fashion business is no different. You could say that the European designers on display at the spring 2005 collection last week in Milan went beyond manufacturing clothes abroad; they outsourced their inspiration. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who had recently traveled to Botswana, brought back a sexy show filled with zebra-striped chiffon dresses, ivory bangles and chic safari jackets. After a 10-day romp through Asia last April, Giorgio Armani returned with a vision of a fictional Asian woman in soft satin pajama pants, boxy Chinese jackets and coolie hats. Gianfranco Ferre looked over the horizon to exotic locales like San Salvador de Bahia and the Amazon rain forest for his orchid-covered creations, and included python sandals and zebra-striped dresses.

But the loudest buzz of the week was in the foyer of the Hotel Diana, waiting for the Gucci show to get started. As waiters served martinis under a huge orchid-covered chandelier and the honchos from Gucci owner Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, including CEO Serge Weinberg and new Gucci Group CEO Robert Polet, mingled in the crowd, the chatter was all about how Tom Ford's replacement, onetime Gucci design director Alessandra Facchinetti, would fill her former boss's big shoes. As it happens, Facchinetti had also been bitten by the travel bug, offering Indian-inspired sari dresses and fringe-embroidered skirts. She didn't rock the boat, choosing instead to stick to Ford's sexy, slender Gucci image in a solid debut. "It's time for Gucci to be feminine. It should not always be so hard," Facchinetti said, beaming backstage after her debut. Her bosses seemed genuinely pleased. "This is a very exciting moment, but it is a big change and that is not always so easy to make, to change patterns like we did here," said Weinberg, referring to the choice of Facchinetti over a designer with more name recognition. Meanwhile, a familiar name was remaking herself. "This is a season of change," echoed Donatella Versace, looking svelte and relaxed after a summer of much personal change, as she prepared her collection in the family's Via Gesù headquarters a day before the show. "No celebrities, no more big parties, just pretty clothes." Her front row was devoid of the usual A-listers and her clothes — fluttery jersey dresses, pale pastel Wedgwood-inspired prints, and a few safari jackets — were unusually simple and, well, just pretty.

To hear Armani tell it, change is as psychological as it is stylistic. "I feel like a new baby, starting all over again," he said after his show. "Last season I decided to make some very big changes in my collections. I don't want to just be the designer who makes salable clothes, I want to have some fantasy too." This season the fantasy came in the form of Elsa Schiaparelli-inspired straw hats and Chinese-style coolie hats that looked somewhat out of place among the signature fitted jackets and soft, fluid pants.

One of the biggest changes came from Miuccia Prada, who suddenly abandoned the pretty, eccentric lady she introduced to fashion several seasons ago with a pared-down collection of stiff, narrow miniskirts, shrugged-on polo sweaters and penny loafers. The occasional exotic flair came from an aviary theme, with peacock feathers adorning skirts and appliqués of parrots and swans on shift dresses.

And why not take flight? Business is up and designers are bullish. After all the drama over Ford's departure last season, Gucci Group saw earnings before interest and taxes more than double in the second quarter, with revenue up 64% at Bottega Veneta, one of the group's smaller brands. "We're very optimistic," said Saks Fifth Avenue executive Ron Frasch. "Luxury is on a roll." And if this particular roll ever comes to an end? Just hop on a plane, and get inspired anew.

• KATE BETTS | Milan
• At the Milan collections, designers remake themselves by borrowing styles from abroad