Alta Roma: Still Living The Dolce Vita (Fashion Wire Daily)

Rome - It sweltered in Rome this week, yet the clothes on the runway of Alta Roma, the citys fashion season, were sturdy enough to withstand a gale force wind and classical enough to fit into a repeat of La Dolce Vita, set in the same date as the original.

Python pants, curvaceous double-face cashmere jackets and gigantic taffeta gowns swept down the catwalks in Rome, clothes for gals who dont so much need a limousine as a carriage in which to get around.

A curious amalgam of alta moda - thats the Italian version of haute couture - and avant-garde experimentation by young hopefuls, AltaRoma is a state-backed project to create a dynamic season in the Eternal City, and one that shows signs of working.

Most critics rated Sunday evenings show by Fausto Sarli as the seasons strongest. Inspired by one of natures mystery, the crop circle, the show had a curvy, retro futurist quality whether with cashmere apple-shaped jackets or mega frilled Art Deco columns for evening. Plus the workmanship was first rate, and the cutting, like a revealing off the shoulder coatdress, admirable.

Also impressing was Gattinoni, a 74-year-old house whose creative director Guglielmo Mariotto favored mellifluous mink jackets with sleeves ending at the elbow and delightful patchwork cashmere tweed boleros or redingotes with courtly trim. Frayed fabric sling backs also looked great, as did multi-ruffled evening gowns where gaining attention was the key point of wearing the clothes. His is a tricky fashion – the little black dress came with a built on cape – but it had a certain Mediterranean panache one could only applaud.

Understated is not an Alta Moda tradition as was evident at the 40-minute long show by Raffaella Curiel, who herself took a five minute bow. Mega padded riding jackets, knitted fur boleros and flounced Paisley pleated skirts all look warm enough for a Finnish winter, and were in stark contrast to the stifling heat in the Borgo Santo Spirito in Sassia, a charming complex that boasts the longest Renaissance room in Rome.

And in weirdly provincial moments, both Mariotto and Curiel appeared on their own runways pre-show to excuse late starts, something no designer in Paris or Milan would ever dream of doing.

On Wednesday, couturier Renato Ballestra sent out a jaunty collection of beautifully embroidered boucle wool mini jackets, golden silk columns and a very fine "swan" feather and chiffon wedding dress.

"The idea is to celebrate the beauty of women," Ballestra told FWD at a post-show party on a superb riverboat named IV built on the Tiber and floated down the never very deep river to below Ponte Sisto, Romes beautiful stone walking bridge to Trastevere.

One could not fault the workmanship seen in Rome, but far too often the collections seemed caught in a time warp, as elderly designers recreated a moment that we all already knew too well. This is fashion with a capital F, where the clothes are designed to make it clear youve spent a lot of money on them.

Indeed shows in Rome can seem more like a social guide to has just gotten plastic surgery than a prediction of what women will be wearing in the future. Yet, AltaRoma would appear to have plenty of potential, especially as no city has more beautiful buildings and locations for shows.