A Newish Take on Old Stylings

And so the ravening fashion hordes have come to Milan, heels click-clacking, iPhones at the ready. Talk of independence has been traded for talk of reform, thanks to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new imperative.

At Gucci, however, it was not entirely clear that its creative director, Frida Giannini, had gotten the memo.

Revisiting the brand's 1970s heyday, she offered up a vintage-tinged, albeit crisply energetic, parade of faded denim cropped sailor trousers paired with skinny ribbed knits, maroon and forest green suede belted trenches complete with rows of brass buttons, and marching band jackets with gold-braid trim.

Soigné burnt orange jersey halter dresses were piped in kimono stitching, above-the-knee crisp cotton shirtwaists had pirate lacing up the front, and silk cocktail dresses reminiscent of the easy, flirty shapes of Ms. Giannini's early years at Gucci were pieced together from multiple Oriental prints and glinted with beaded tracings.

Over it all came cropped fantasia jackets of multiple furs (fox, astrakhan, Mongolian lamb, goat) and colors, sometimes with crystals, sometimes not. And to offset the clothing were relatively utilitarian leather bags, all sporting Gucci's classic red-and-green military strap.

Imagine if Jimi Hendrix and Ali MacGraw had a love child after a secret tryst in Kyoto, and you'll get the idea.

It was, in other words, if not exactly new, at least a newish take on older stylings. And proof that, if you are going to dip into the rummage bin of history, it's not a bad idea (at least in the fashion context) to remix what you find.