Milan fashion shows celebrate the great outdoors

Atop vertiginous heels, Dsquared hiked off for a spring camping holiday Monday, coining the term "glam-ping" at Milan Fashion Week for the city girl communing with nature.

It was the great outdoors for Frankie Morello as well, but for a spot of horseback riding at an exclusive country club, also with gravity-defying spike-heeled shoes -- perhaps filling in for spurs?

Predicting rain, Dsquared's Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten proposed clear plastic bonnets or macs trimmed with hot pink or orange, as well as plastic rucksacks for any occasion -- even a strass-trimmed one hanging off the back of an evening gown.

Boy scout-type caps, some decorated with fishing lures, will also be de rigueur even at a glittering soiree in spring/summer 2010.

A model in a sparkling purple evening gown carried a bottle of Budweiser, helping to lower the tone along with the ubiquitous cap.

The mixed message of sophistication and youthful cluelessness was well accompanied by the lyrics "you're much too young, girl" from Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's 1968 hit "Young Girl".

For men, Dsquared proposed gardening gloves and leggings with shorts and camping boots, either bare-chested or with a nerdish suitcoat, white shirt and narrow tie. (The twins took a bow in this outfit, though without the cap, after the show.)

At the country club meanwhile, Frankie Morello unveiled a "bold new warrior princess" brandishing a riding crop and revelling in her freedom, so that leather straps suggesting bridles are no more than a design feature.

Outfits trailing horsehair -- one even in the form of a horse's tail flowing from the anatomically appropriate spot on the back of a leather minidress -- or featuring a golden horseshoe as a belt buckle or part of a swimsuit's architecture -- fill out the concept.

Leather bras are worn on the outside, while beige shorts and jacket soften the menacing quality of a leather corset.

Freedom is just as desirable for Roccobarocco, with the proviso that the world financial crisis calls for new ideas that are price sensitive without sacrificing quality. The result? "A form of romantic and amusing realism," he says.

To flowing, classic cuts Barocco adds playfulness and transparency, as in a see-through pleated black voile dress over black lace boxers or leopard-patterned muslin creations.

Roccobarocco also gives a nod to nature in new combinations of green and pink, "because nature is never out of fashion."

On Tuesday, smaller fashion houses and up-and-coming designers will present their ready-to-wear collections.

Wide choices are out there for spring/summer 2010, with many designers giving a welcome nod to flat sandals and ballet slippers and embracing the standby classic black and white.

Expect a lot of leg as microminiskirts and short shorts promise to maintain their dominance in the warm weather, plus barely concealed torsos.