I recently attended a showing of a young Italian designer's debut collection in New York, Marco Grisolia, whose label is Atelier Paro. Grisolia works in Rome with Italian dressmakers and his fabrics are all made in Italy. While he's not yet ready to take on the mantle of Valentino, give him time.
His clothes are very tricky with a lot of draping, almost requiring a ladies' maid to help the wearer get into them and out.
He does a lot of cocktail dresses with what he calls a cocoon skirt, which is reminiscent of the 1950s bubble skirt. The skirt is almost a pillow and feels as though it is filled with thousands of feather puffs. It's certainly different with a definite charm.
One problem he is encountering with store buyers is that his prices are too high—starting at about $2,000 for an evening dress. He will have to find a way to lower his prices without sacrificing quality.
There are a number of things I like very much, although his clothes should come with a diagram showing how to get into them and arrange the various folds.
I love a bicolor evening dress in creme silk satin with a large black leather lapel.
There’s a sleeveless number that's actually two dresses in one—one on top of the other—black georgette over creme silk.
There's another bicolor evening dress in pink and black wool and silk georgette.
Grisolia does a lot of rouching. One in particular, in black silk with diagonal rouches and a microcape, stands out.
There's a peplum dress in nude-colored silk. He does a lot of things in nude-colored satin, which look very pretty.
If you'll notice, everything is eveningwear. He's another designer who seems to forget that women have jobs, go to lunch, take the kids to the park. We do have lives during the daylight hours, too.
Miriam Silverberg is a freelance writer and the founder and owner of Miriam Silverberg Associates, a boutique publicity firm in Manhattan. She may be reached at silverbergm@mindspring.com.
