There is a mini-rebellion being staged in Milan against the hyper-embellished party clothes as anytime clothes formula (splash sequins on anything and it has a better chance of selling), and the start of something cleaner and more authentic. Think of it as fashion detox.

It began with Raf Simons' sexy take on deconstruction at Jil Sander, when he laid bare the whole messy creative process and showed us the passion behind a frayed edge and a slashed skirt. And it continued Saturday at Bottega Veneta, where Tomas Maier was just as carefree, but much more calm.

In the notes, Maier described the collection as "architectural," but "organic" might have been a better word, because the back-to-basics looks seemed to flow into one another. "The clothes are 'blank' until she puts them on,' Maier wrote in the show notes. "Then the shape of her body, her movements, and the color of her shoes, her bag, her jewelry--all these personal characteristics and choices complete the look."

That meant summer clothes with the ease of uniforms in a clean palette of white, ivory and straw. Dresses were not embellished, but instead draped and wrapped with asymmetrical folds at the neckline or at the hips, creating side pockets. Pants and shorts were cut square and roomy, some with folds creating an obi belt effect at the waistlines.

Maier designs in broad strokes. So rather than throwing everything in the junk drawer on a dress,  decorative details amounted to a single sculptural frill in a contrasting shade of yolk yellow, fever red or Delft blue.

It wasn't minimalism, but individualism -- letting the woman wear the clothes instead of the clothes wear the woman, and it was a breath of fresh air.

-- Booth Moore

Photo: A look from Bottega Veneta's Spring/Summer 2010 women's RTW collection, shown Saturday during Milan Fashion Week. Photo credit: Peter Stigter and Jonas Gustavsson / For The Times

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Photos: Bottega Veneta's spring-summer 2010 runway

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I'm about to dash out to the Gucci show over in Piazza Oberdan, but wanted to post some piping hot runway video from this morning's Bottega Veneta show. I was sitting in a prime spot to bust out the Flip video camera, and thanks to the addition of a Joby Gorillapod, my videos no longer look like they were shot by a toddler in the front row.

I'll have more to say about Bottega Veneta later. Until then, check out the video and see why Tomas Maier's creations make it worthwhile to get up for a 9 a.m. Sunday show -- even when you're nine time zones off schedule.

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MILAN -- "Sculptural" is a watch word to describe many of the collections we're seeing this season. But at Bottega Veneta, Tomas Maier showed us how sculptural clothes can be done in a forward-thinking and sensual way, heightened by rich fabrics and a quiet palette all his own, with charmingly subtle colors such as "bramble," "truffle," "grape" and "elephant."

The key piece was the dress -- silk twill, wool or soft nappa -- in different versions of an envelope shape, with soft flaps in back or on the sides.

Everything felt soft and romantic -- a faded rose, shiny nappa trench coat, a sleeveless, truffle-colored, tufted wool gauze dress with a sheer back, and a lilac cashmere jersey dress with a ruched bodice and bra top.

One of Maier's great assets is measured restraint, which he demonstrated brilliantly on silk velvet dresses, backless except for a few ropes of rhinestones holding them to the body, something that easily could have looked trashy but instead looked elegant.

The ivory chiffon goddess gowns at the end of the show were also stunning in their simplicity, with double-layer skirts, braided halters or belts.

The collection was so riveting, I forgot to look at the shoes and bags, which is saying something for a brand that started as a leathergoods maker.

-- Booth Moore

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Photo: A look from Bottega Venet'as Fall 2009 collection shown during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday. Credit: AP Photo /Luca Bruno.

Paging Mr. Rogers! At Bottega Veneta, creative director Tomas Maier chose to make the cardigan sweater his touchstone for the season's overarching theme of familiarity. Not the actual cardigan sweater, mind you, but the silhouette, fabrication and attitude.
"It's an unusual time, obviously, and we thought very carefully about what our customer wants and needs right now," he said in the show notes. "So we started with the cardigan, which is soft and unassuming but also confident and timeless."
The result is soft-shouldered wool coats, suede blazers, flannel pants and cashmere turtlenecks and sweaters, each piece looking just broken-in enough to sleep in. Combined with an earthy color palette of bone white, ash and graphite grays and a shade of brown he calls "truffle," the combined effect is, like Saturday's shows, getting back to the earth, to the roots, hearkening back.

-- Adam Tschorn

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Photo: Bottega Veneta Fall 2009 menswear show in Milan, Jan. 18. Credit: Peter Stigter