Rossella Tarabini has run away to become a showgirl in a nightclub—and she looks all the better for it. Her Anna Molinari clothes always appeared a bit fake-young on the sterile runway of the official Fiera venue. By taking her shredded dresses to a gritty dive and roughing up some of the styling touches, she added bit more believability to her profile. (Though, on a day of traffic gridlock, few thanked her for the endless schlep across town to witness it.)
The show's feathers, tattered tulle, scrappy lace, and occasional Folies Bergère ooh-la-la satin corset jibed with the general mood of a cool girl playing the off-duty soubrette for an evening out. And sneakers, gloves, and the odd baggy cardigan kept the saccharine mostly at bay. One white puff-sleeve, rickrack-trimmed baby-doll dress did slip past the bouncers, but for the first time, this show demonstrated the context in which Tarabini's clothes might really be worn.
