Gucci's Cool Cruise On Rome's Highest Hill (Fashion Wire Daily)

Rome - Gucci took its cruise 2009 collection to the top of Romes highest hill, the Gianicolo, on Tuesday night, where under umbrella pines and before an audience of Hollywood, politico honchos and coolly haughty Italian aristos, designer Frida Giannini staged probably her best show to date for the house.

The elite event staged in the charming Villa Aurelia also celebrated the 70th anniversary, and major overhaul, of Guccis iconic Rome boutique on tony via Condotti. Iconic because the stores opening connected Gucci with the Hollywood heavy hitters in town to shoot movies in Cinecitta, Italys great film studio and to enjoy the Dolce Vita.

Before an audience that included Claire Danes, her boyfriend Hugh Dancy, Rome Major Gianni Alemanno, Maria Grazia Cucinotto and enough local princes and countesses to form an aristocratic regiment, Giannini sent out a collection that cleverly mixed flirtation and elegance, the kind of clothes your cool big sister would wear if she were a princess with a rock groupie history.

Gucci gals for this coming resort season will hit the beach side terraces in mega wide, boyish flared pants, held up by thick rope belts, lots of Romanesque fantasy print tops, and flirty open necked shirts, all topped by snug cricket blazers with Gucci logos.

For evening, the ghost of Ozzie Clark whispered into the collection with billowing sleeve silk dresses in animal prints, and when the sea air gets chilly some brilliantly cut skinny leather biker jackets, boasting a new Gucci Rose tattoo insignia.

A cast of top catwalkers, including Natasha Poly, Maricarla Boscono and Lily Donaldson, clutched patent tortoise bags and totes with hefty metallic hearts, all of them saying loud and clear "best seller."

Powered on by the best soundtrack of the Giannini Gucci era, featuring the runway cut of the moment, Santo Golds "Les Artistes," it was a crisply coolly fashion moment and marked a new step in this designers career. In a word, the famously workaholic Frida is finally lightening up.

"Dont you love this place? I do. In fact, I liked it so much I even had my wedding here three years ago," laughed Giannini.

"We wanted to do something for Rome, as its been such a key store for us. Paparazzi used to stand in ranks outside our via Condotti boutique to capture American movie stars shopping for Gucci. That really put us on a new international level," recalled Gucci CEO Mark Lee, as a montage of folks like Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn and Kim Novak purchasing in the Roman boutique was projected on a huge screen.

The party also celebrated Guccis remarkable recent financial performance - sales have grown cumulatively by 46 per cent in the past three years to 2.175 billion euros, or $3.415 billion.

The occasion marked the first time that Gucci showed its cruise collection in Europe, though fittingly seeing the Hollywood connection it took place in a superb 17th century villa located on the grounds of the Academia Americana.

Giannini included five new evening gowns designed as a tribute to Rome to be sold exclusively in the local boutique. The Cruise 2009 collection will be available in stores worldwide from November 2008.