MILAN FASHION WEEK Prada Miuccia Prada showed a collection that definitely had a new direction for this Milan based designer. What direction it was, I have no idea. Prada was quoted as saying the collection was: "about trying to find a new creativity". okaaaayy. I see. ............. There were some feminine details - like the swirly, colorful designs of little fairies that evoke images of Art Nouveau. The trouble is the ensembles looked more like something the house staff of the Horta Museum in Brussels might wear to serve tea circa 1895- rather than what a fashionable women would actually choose to buy. (The Horta museum is actually the house of the late architect Victor Horta and is a masterpiece of Art Nouveau built in the late 1890's. It is a treasure and I truly recommend a side trip from Paris or Milan if you have the chance!) Miuccia Prada always has a difficult time with trying to do pretty. It is not her area of expertise. She is much more comfortable with sensible gray or black party dress styles that first put her on the map when a new sense of ugly/sexy was in. She was the first to do a retro Ugly Betty. Prada has the pedigree, but not the relevance to be a designer of this moment. The strongest look on her runway were the wonderful shoes! Gorgeous platforms and pumps with detail and color just bursting at the seams. Usually though, they were eclipsed by the sad situation above it. The collection made you think of Vivienne Westwood having taken an acid trip and then woke up and had to put a collection together. Etro In sharp contrast from the tortured use of color at Prada, Etro got it all right! This is no easy feat for a house that is known for prints and colorful tricks - the expectation is high. Veronica Etro got it! The looks on her runway were fun and flirty and cute! It doesn't take a doctoral dissertation to decide what her inspiration was and where her intention was. You will actually look good wearing these clothes. This is what fashion is at its best. Inspirational and empowering. At the core of the industry is seduction. A women wants to seduce or be seduced by a show and a designer. Her sexuality should not be stymied by Prada drab, she should be showcased by the looks on the Etro runway!