Armani's "Easy Chic" Ends the Milan Season MILAN - With Gorgeous George (Clooney), Tom Cruise and Martin Scorsese wearing his tuxedos and Penélope Cruz in an ethereal organza gown, is it surprising that tailoring and elegance were to the fore at Giorgio Armani "s show? That took place Monday, on the closing day of the Milan winter 2012 shows. "Easy chic" the designer said as he was photographed among a sea of be-hatted models. He explained that the hats, each one shown on the runway with a flick of the head to the right, balanced the flat shoes, which were just slightly funky. If there is such a thing as a female dandy, that was the Armani look: long jackets, curving in at the waist, perhaps with a flat fabric flower on the label. Slim pants made up the lower half, until the jackets were cropped shorter for fuller pants. Then came the full-on story: vivid color and shorts - really the same pants cropped off. Mr. Armani still has his piercing blue eyes on the streets. And the thick hose under shorts ensemble is a street look that has filtered through to his haute tailoring. The colors were bright: coral and/or pink, picking up the shades of the perpetual sunset on the backdrop. Just once, the hot shades moved from top to bottom half as bright shorts. They also peeked out, as a sparkling undercurrent to short dresses. Take away the extras (for the hat thing became repetitive) and this was just a streamlined Armani show. And all those women who hanker after the Jean Dujardin matinee-idol look could find just the tailoring they desire from this fashion "Artiste." From the 39,000 roses forming a tiger pattern on the runway to the finale led by Naomi Campbell, Roberto Cavalli "s show was a tour de force. Maybe that should be "force of nature," for what the designer described as "an Eden of femininity" was an extraordinary confection of fur, feathers, skins and printed fabrics that created animal magic. That started with Mr. Cavalli leading his Alsatian dog Lupo around the runway. Then came the opening dresses: short, sexy, with ballooning skirts and the patterns that the designer created by hand, painting on canvas. These early, perky dresses seemed familiar fashion fodder, even if the mix of what looked like silver fox with silvered cloth created a sparkling effect. Even jockey caps were decked out with feathers. As the show went on, long dresses took over, making the body covering increasingly like the tiger flower bed: a re-creation of tiger patterns and fur prints - so it was almost impossible to tell what was nature and what an artificial creation. The craftsmanship in these pieces from head to toe was breathtaking. But, however lovely, it was a one-track show: the famous Cavalli animal prints. And, significantly, the eight stars at the Oscars who wore Mr. Cavalli's seductive clothes, from Miley Cyrus through Leslie Mann to Bar Refaeli, did so only in black and white. As front-row stars from China to India posed for photographers at Salvatore Ferragamo , it was a testimony to how the creative director, Massimiliano Giornetti, has transformed the fashion visibility of the brand. Yet he has done it without forgetting that the collection should always embrace the iconic shoes. Ferragamo certainly was in step with the famous Oscar red carpet. The black velvet peep-toe shoes worn with Angelina Jolie's slit-side dress by Atelier Versace and Meryl Streep's gilded shoes, like her Lanvin gown, both were by Ferragamo - as were shoes for Cameron Diaz and a sparkling evening bag for Jennifer Lopez. On the Ferragamo runway, the mood was less of grand evenings, more of Russia by day. Perhaps the leather Cossack boot embossed with velvet was not Mr. Giornetti's first thought. He said backstage that his early training in men's wear had led him toward the idea of uniforms. But Russia was definitely on stage in a hyper-sophisticated way: first as brass-buttoned and fitted military jackets, then as the peasant blouse look revamped to make the off-the-shoulder style seem fresh when paired with a slender skirt. The meld of military and paisley patterns, of gilt buttons on an astrakhan suit and of golden touches on chiffon dresses all created a sense of dense luxury, but that was as lightly handled as the lacy sandals and cameo jewelry. This from-Russia-with-love look may not be revolutionary - but it moved Ferragamo gracefully forward as a fashion brand. There was a hard, downtown, sexy vibe to the Versus show, as the designer Christopher Kane went back to the era when Donatella Versace used the line to add roughed-up rock chicks to the brand's sleek image. The (fake) wet puddles on a dingy cement floor sent out the message, even before models stomped out in thigh-high boots or with leggings open-laced from ankle to waist. These girls with attitude first wore wine-red outfits, then blue worked with prints and finally acid yellow. But by then, Mr. Kane's skills were showing in the delicate mingling of lace and a digital tie-dye pattern that seemed totally original. "It's very Camden Cyberdog, a very rebellious girl - very Donatella," said Mr. Kane backstage, referring to the hard-edge punk store in the North London district. The show seemed to shift too far toward the angry, sexy, punky vision that might once have appealed to Ms. Versace. The problem is that now the image she has created at the brand is slick luxe. This show, in the way it was presented, looked like it was trying too hard to be young and hip - and without any connection to Versace's southern Italian roots. But out of the show setting, Mr. Kane's use of lace, print and even a shocking-pink furry coat had Versace bravura for pretty clothes. The Gianfranco Ferré show looked in tune with the late maestro: a collection of streamlined clothes, cut with grand gestures so that a coat would cocoon at the back, a dress would be cut big and round at the shoulders. Apart from a smattering of short, sparkly, striped dresses, the clothes were womanly, cut with the geometry of a compass and the spirit of the grand Ferré days in the 1980s. The respect of the heritage and the skill to carry it out, makes Federico Piaggi and Stefano Citron a good duo to create a saleable collection. Whether they can take the brand forward, or whether they will just stay loyal to the founding father of the company, remains to be seen.