Accept that fashion is society’s mirror and it’s only a matter of time before global warming makes its presence felt on some catwalk somewhere. For Ennio Capasa, that time is now. He was mortified that here it was, mid-winter in Milan last year, and the temperature was a balmy 19 degrees Celsius (66°F). And this freak occurrence was well after he’d created his collection “in the hope that winter will still exist in our future.” So, for Fall/Winter 2007, Capasa set about celebrating cold-weather wear with (among other striking items) a fur-lined trench, glossy mountaineering boots, and a fox blouson. Still, the collection’s overwhelming aftertaste was the shiny new-wave style that has always been his signature. Capasa has, after all, built his career on a brand of arctic cool that has been more about attitude than temperature (let alone sociopolitical comment). Which meant his models looked more like chic cat burglars than hardy polar explorers in their balaclavas. The designer was quick to point out that the masterfully quilted silk lining in his coats and jackets would ensure its wearer’s comfort in any climate, but somehow the Lurex-placketed evening shirt -with its hint of decadence- seemed much closer to the heart of Costume National, as did, in their own showy way, the tuxedo-striped gray trousers and the quilted jacket in flagrant Chinese red.
