Spring fashion falls for the 1970s

(ANSA) - Rome, June 18 - As temperatures are intermittently soaring this spring-summer, so is fashion's fling with the dissolute 1970s - an era that has kept a strong creative pull on both those who experienced it firsthand and their offspring.
    A number of top Italian brands have focused on the languid sensuality that was very much part of an aesthetic flowering at the start of the 1970s, before things got groovier in the second half of the decade.
    Culottes, flared pants and A-line skirts with high waists, belted trench coats, bold buttons and even bolder patterned dresses this season embrace the libertine and inventive aura of that time period.
    Gucci's patch-worked fur vests, trench coats and belted denim dresses - complete with statement gold-dome buttons - take the wearer straight back to the early 1970s.
    And collections by Max Mara and Emilio Pucci, including bold tie-dyes and kaftans, also seen at Roberto Cavalli, follow suit.
    Meanwhile culottes brushed up from 1970s models, a niche trend up until this spring, can be spotted in various guises across a number of collections, including a denim version at Gucci and a party-ready model at Giorgio Armani.
    Indeed culottes are a go-to piece for designers such as Stella McCartney, Valentino, N21 and Derek Lam with a predominantly voluminous and ankle-grazing silhouette.
    So are coats and jackets, including Gucci's suede belted duster coats, Prada's top-stitched denim models and the 1970s safari jackets and trench coats seen at Bottega Veneta, Ferragamo, Max Mara and Missoni.
    Meanwhile, nostalgia for this bygone era has brought forward a key trouser shape whose popularity will outlive the summer - flares - as evidenced by fashion houses including Gucci and Saint Laurent.
    Elsewhere, Chloe has produced a 1970s aesthetic mash-up in a bohemia-infused collection including cheesecloth dresses and breezy kaftans.
    Givenchy and Saint Laurent have explored the rock side of the era while Tom Ford, who in the 1990s gave new life to the house of Gucci with a 1970s inspiration, pays homage to Bianca Jagger.
    Overall, the resurrection of the decade of spunk has momentarily sent the 'normcore' bland anti-style fad packing. And the youthfulness and dazzling sexiness of the 1970s have brought sparkle back to fashion - literally. Glitzy brocades at Prada, along with Swarovski crystals at Dolce & Gabbana and Versace have pulled day-time glamour back on trend.
    So have accessories, more or less openly evoking the 1970s.
    In the footwear department, trademark styles include Prada's clogs and Fausto Puglisi's beaded pool sliders.
    Valentino has been one of many top fashion houses to revamp gladiator sandals and espadrilles, whose popularity quotient is at an all-time high this summer.
    On the purse front, the bucket bag has been resurrected across the board - from the increasingly hip Mansur Gavriel label to Saint Laurent.
    The boho chic mood has also seen a resurgence of tassels and fringes lavishly used at Pucci, Etro and Salvatore Ferragamo.
    Along with the relaxed shapes of bucket bags, satchels and messenger bags, box bags are also a major trend, bringing more grown-up glamor.
    The boxy shape of Louis Vuitton's Petite Malle purse is indeed stealing the hearts of fashionistas just as Cèline's resurrection of a 1970s in-house icon, the classic Box bag.
    The ladylike structured bag also makes a statement at Prada and Miu Miu Box purses have Baroque accents at Dolce & Gabbana while Chanel has showcased tiny versions of the model.
    And Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld also designed an anti-war flap bag with the slogan "make fashion not war" in the spirit of the fight-for-your-right call of a collection presented to the rallying cry of "Feminist But Feminine".