Go girl, go Gucci

Gucci might not be the most cuttingedge brand in Milan - that accolade goes to Prada - but when it comes to knocking out hits, it is unassailable. As with her predecessor Tom Ford designer Frida Giannini has a sense for knowing what women want to wear, before they want to wear it.

Nobody else in Milan is doing short, voluminous dresses in a bold palm print - but then nobody else in Milan was doing folksy dresses last season, and it did not stop them from being massive sellers. Giannini isn't afraid of being commercial, and if her natural audience is more footballer's wife or pop star than art house actress, she certainly isn't complaining. These are clothes for women who work hard on maintaining the "body beautiful" - and who want to show it off at all times.

For spring 2009, bring on the green eyeshadow, pink lipgloss and big'n'bouncy hair. Add in stack-heeled sandals so high they require a chauffeur, and the Gucci girl is ready to go. Legs were a focus, with dresses skimming the thigh. Shorts were ultra-short, and worn with safari-style jackets whose proportions had been shrunk so that they were figure-hugging in the extreme.

Another trend was summer leather, with parkas in light, unlined leather in khaki or chocolate brown. An emerald green leather jerkin, its hide perforated for extra lightness, was worn with linen shorts.

On the bag front was the New Jackie, an updated classic made capaciously large, that came in snakeskin or nappa leather emblazoned with the classic interlocking Gs. There was a cute backpack in a camouflage print.

Suiting was narrow and in sky blue, cobalt and emerald green. Jackets were slim-fit; trousers were loose at the hip then tapered to the ankle.

For evening, legs were finally put away in favour of floor-length, elegant gowns in what has come to be the classic Gucci style. A one-shouldered gown in deep turquoise silk looked red carpet ready, as did a billowing kaftan in dark kingfisher blue.