Versace: Unbound by trends

Donatella Versace has to be one of the most relaxed designers in Milan. She knows exactly what it takes to please her vast clientele - sexy dresses, sexy trousers and some, uh, sexy dresses - and hits the nail on the head time after time. Sounds easy, doesn't it?

And Donatella certainly made her brand of modern, glossy sexuality look totally effortless at her packed show on Monday night. Unbound by trends, she showed lean, body-skimming looks that unselfconsciously define and accentuate a woman's body.

So we saw cocktail dresses that every young woman from St Tropez to Shanghai would give their eyeteeth for: with a secretive little belt running around the front and disappearing through a hole at the back, the backs cut down to there, and a beautiful drape in the fabric pinning the focus squarely on one perfect bare shoulder.

Flying to the tropics

Let's not forget winter is as much a party season as anything else, so why shouldn't party dresses be the focus of a collection? Wanna cover up in a sweater? You came to the wrong show. When it gets cold, the Versace girl flies to the tropics and pulls out another one of her fabulous little numbers - perhaps a little hot pink coat-dress, or a mini-dress covered in dirham-sized pearl-coloured sequins.

Should she really feel the chill, she'll pick up one of Donatella's black jackets streaked with metallic thread, or the lovely flare-skirted trenches. I can already see any number of stars in Dontella's one-shouldered nude chiffon gowns, but it was a real pleasure to see Donatella's choice of models for the show itself.

The one thing her clothes are made for are curves, and these ladies - including senior model citizen Carmen Kass - had those in spades. Nice work, Donatella! Backstage, Donatella said she was relieved with the reception and that she loved that "long, lean look", before making a thinly-veiled comment on some other, let's say more nostalgic, shows that have taken place this past week. "I don't need to look back. I was with Gianni in the '80s. And the '80s should stay there."