Valentino Spares No Expense

Only three days into the menswear shows in Milan and already two rather improbable trends are emerging: gold and see-through clothes. The International Herald Tribune tried to justify this yesterday by claiming that they reflect the rise of hedge fund managers, whose byword, apparently, is transparency, and only those with six-figure bonuses could possibly afford all the gilded garments.

Valentino has always taken a far more literal approach to referencing wealth, preferring to embody it in his famous yacht-and-villa lifestyle than making oblique references to it through transparent clothes. This is a man who has a house in most big capitals because he doesn't like to stay in a hotel, who insists that his napkins are ironed on his yachts and who makes Gwyneth Paltrow feel nervous about her physical appearance. Only if she has had her hair professionally blow-dried beforehand, she claims in an interview in US Harpers Bazaar this month, is she permitted to wear jeans in front of him.

While some designers hypocritically claim they are aiming for the trendy youth market, yet still knock out clothes with price tags that suggest the only youths able to afford their wares are ones with Hilton as a surname, Valentino's clothes look exactly as they are: expensive. Yesterday's menswear show included slim suits, neckerchiefs, cashmere polo necks and a color scheme the press release described as "colonial" - perfect for any minor European royalty out there.

One thing that was different was that instead of a traditional show Valentino staged a presentation, a surprisingly democratic format for the designer. Instead of being seated in tiered rows, which operates as a quasi caste system in the fashion world, the audience milled around in an aimless group. Unfortunately, this didn't quite work, with no one really able to see the clothes and the crowd becoming downright indignant when they realized they could not sit down, after having been kept waiting for 45 minutes in the 35C (95F) heat. Democracy, it seems, just doesn't work in the Valentino world.