SHORTER, SLEEKER, SEXIER: THE SUIT SURPRISES; THANKS TO PRADA, GUCCI, VALENTINO AND CERRUTI, THE UNHERALDED SUIT TURNS IN A STRONG SHOWING.

Daily News Record, July, 1999

MILAN -- The suit, that most beleaguered of frocks, has been beaten up by both casual and cool but found a couple of new advocates during runway week here.

And they just happen to be two of fashion's hippest houses: Prada and Gucci.

Though some may see it as throwing the tailored crowd a lifeline (or a bone), that was hardly the case. Prada's suit was there for show and go, and -- with its emphasis on high-tech fabric -- wash and wear. That followed Gucci's tailored man, a good-time glam rocker who wears his after-hours.

What does it mean? Just as the spring-summer 2000 collections were writing the epitaph for the shouldered garment, Prada and Gucci showed why they're one step ahead on the fashion front. The reality is, the...

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