prada fall 2011-The Milan shows 2011 are rolling along and raising a few eyebrows. The Prada show, which is usually reliable for crowd-pleasing and trend-spotting, offered up some great items alongside some unusual pieces that only die-hard fashion victims will be clamoring over. The traditional coats and jackets, the coats/capes with long side-slits for arms, the two-tone socks/leg warmers, the wooly cardigans, the rough, stiff leathers, the shift dresses, the striped knit-caps – all great! The plasticky fringed numbers and the fuzzy, mossy, Chia Pet-like coats (pictured), sweaters and skirts made of synthetic Muppet-like fur were not. In an interview with The Telegraph’s Hilary Alexander, Miuccia claims, “I became fed up with everything, bored with the way we look at fashion. I wanted to go back to my roots, when I was experimental.” She said she’d spent months searching for treatments to make fabrics look “fake and cheap.” Yeah, for four-digit price tags, I doubt shoppers will appreciate the “fake and cheap” aesthetic.

-Raf Simon’s impressive Jil Sander show featured his usual perfectly tailored suits, coats, and professional wear as well as cocoon-like capes (are women of the future -Fall 2011- going to shed their arms?!) and terrific, slinky dresses. The sleeveless, silver dress with pleated skirt is GORGE!

-Gucci’s Frida Giannini presented a beautiful, feminine, forties-ish collection reminiscent of Katherine Hepburn and Joan Crawford. The full-length dresses she showed at the end were beautiful and elegant and flashed just the right amount of Gucci sexiness.

-Marni’s ne’er-do-wrong Consuelo Castiglioni showed a collection of her usual artsy, quirky, casual cool looks with new elements of PVC and nylon. Fortunately she showed some arm-warmers – perfect to wear with all the arm-less coats on offer next fall! Too much going on – but in a very good way! This collection, as always, showcased Castiglioni’s fabulous, effortless chic. Who wouldn’t want to be a Marni girl?