The Milan collections this week have predicted a strong, hard, edgy vision for next autumn, with lots of black, lots of leather and a sleek, rather masculine, structured look for fashion.
There have been only brief flashes of whimsy to soften the mood, such as MaxMara's delicate 1920s-inspired tulle and satin evening dresses garlanded with flowers around the hips, or the short, smoky grey chiffon dresses by Alberta Ferretti with tiny pleat and smock detailing.
Giorgio Armani followed the trend for a dark colour palette - although based on the bluegrey tones - but there the similarities ended.
His show yesterday afternoon was a lesson in soft, unstructured jackets slipped over trousers that were cut in a continuous length of fabric which wrapped the leg three times from thigh to ankle.
Gentle tiers of fabric and a swoosh of ruffles at the neck presented a very romantic viewpoint from Armani. As always, trouser suits were the main feature, but there were a few frilled skirts and two shredded grey chiffon Cinderella skirts.
Armani's finale was a group of 30 midnight blue chiffon and tulle ballerina dresses, twinkling with little stars and moons as they flowed down the catwalk. Marni's show yesterday morning also provided a breath of fresh air. There were the slightly boxy structured jackets that have littered Milan, but there were also the delightful white cotton calf-length skirts, covered in smudgy floral prints that gave a pretty summery feel to the autumnal tailoring.
Designer Consuela Castiglioni paid lip-service to the trend for black, by cutting a few jackets in black pony skin and accessorising everything with black opaque tights, but the mood she creates is always feminine from the embroidery on her coats to the fluttery floral appliques on a powder pink jacket.
Pucci, the print house, has a very different spin on fashion and Julio Espada's design debut was eagerly awaited.
Pucci is famed for its exotically coloured, swirling geometric prints, which were once the favourite of the 1950s and 1960s jet-set and most especially Marilyn Monroe, who was reportedly buried in her favourite Pucci outfit.
However, Espada's finger never quite hit the pulse of the house. His printed colour combinations were off-kilter: a lime print mixed with a red and purple one, or a dreary camel, black and grey, cried out for the founder, Emilio Pucci's exuberant hand.
Heavy wool coats over the prints only served to dampen the mood. There were however, a couple of bright moments in the sparkly Fair Isle knits patterned to echo the print of an accompanying skirt, and the parade of belted pink and turquoise tunics that seemed to reawaken the spirit of Monroe.
Together with Marni and Armani these moments provided a counterpoint to the strongly structured sensibility reigning in Milan.