India Enters Rome Fashion

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31514, 31 October 1967, Page 3

India Enters Rome Fashion

India has come to Italy, and in a big way—with sari voiles, strappy sandals and Madras cottons. For the men there are chunky, striped Madras cotton jackets.

All the colours of the Orient are focused on Rome. Even scarves, a speciality in Italy, come printed in violet, pink, turquoise and orange, and are streaked with mysterious symbols. De Parisini's cotton velvet overcoat .in wine read and white, with green geometrical patterns, has kimono armholes and a little collar. One feels this overcoat was dreamed up on a hot. still day in a Bombay market. Oriental designs, ideas and cloths abound in Rome. Not only couturiers like Pucci and De Parisini, but copyists, produce them, so versions of expensive Eastern garments are available cheaply. Few people realise it, but well-dressed Indian women like lace. Garment manufacturers in Italy are trying to teach the feminine public that you cannot have too much of a good thing.

All this lace makes Italian women look like dolls, or little girls. Short, bunchy skirts and long, lacey arms, pink cummerbunds, and long ropes of beads, worn with long hair and no make-up, make it difficult to tell the women from the girls. Gold lace is much in evidence. It is a shock to see it again after so long an absence. Surely we have not had so much gold lace and gold

embroidered, scalloped cotton' voile since granny was a girl? Tunic dresses, sleeveless or bluebell sleeved, in cotton voile, heavily gold or gold and with multi-coloured embroidery, have low hip belts and coloured underskirts. They look poetic but strange: one hardly expects the wearer to talk in an everyday manner.

However, these dresses are worn at night, very mini, with gold Roman sandals or gold Indian chapals, and they do not seem exaggerated. Organza is holding court again, too, especially for party time. A printed organza dress with long sleeves and no shape other than the wearer’s is made by Gulp and worn with a devastatingly heavy Indian gold filigree necklace. Roman summer evenings have brought out a crop of pleated green chiffons, hugelyflowered fluorescent organzas, light white muslin, diaphanous voiles, transparent cotton lawns, striped or flowered Madras cottons, and tiny mini-dresses with crochet bodices.

For gala evenings, Italian women have taken to crepe “semilnugo” evening dresses by B. Ballo in dazzling geometric prints with vivid colours. Semilungo means semi-long, and that means the dress goes down to the bottom of your calf. Lacquer red full-length gowns are popular, too, since the firm of Ballo introduced them. These are like nighties, shapeless, but with gold tassell buttons marching primly down the front of the dress from neck to waistline, and no other adornment. Worn

with heavily jewelled and en-1 crusted gold Indian sandals.: these lacquer red dresses are I really startling.

The drawing shows, at , left. De Parisini's cotton velvet overcoat with wine, I white and green geometrical patterns in the print. I

It Is loose In line, with kimono armholes. The crepon scarf at right is printed in violet, pink, turquoise and orange, streaked with Amalfi symbols.—Central Press Features. Ltd (all rights reserved).