On Reflection Milan Spurns Sex Appeal

How Milan fashion week works is that, twice a year, Italian designers agree on a new spin on how to look, as they say here, molto sexy. Molto sexy but eccentric; molto sexy hippy; molto sexy and futuristic - the possibilities are endless.

Or so we thought. This week, sex appeal has been in thin supply at the usual outlets: Gucci revealed loose, floor-length dresses; Cavalli gave us prim ballerina shapes. And yesterday Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the king and king of molto sexy, unveiled a collection of flat caps, calf-length corduroy dresses, lace-up brogues and, for evening, tweed ball gowns and flat shoes. Their inspiration, they said, was "the return of warm, comfortable clothing".

Perhaps all the knockout frocks have already been packed off to Los Angeles for the Oscars red carpet on Sunday. Here in Milan, the look was English country house with a touch of 70s luxe

Think David Bowie at a shooting weekend in Scotland, with a dash of Arctic Monkeys as country squires at the Brits, and you get the idea. Androgynous skinny tailoring in salt and pepper tweed replaced Dolce & Gabbana's trademark corsetted curves, layered with lambskin gilets and tartan shirts and worn with glitter brogues.

But like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana are adept at spinning desirable accessories out of the most unlikely themes. Saddle bags in sumptuous leather, stack-heeled boots in a patchwork of suede and crocodile, and 50 new silk scarf prints should ensure the tills continue to ring.