Where fatigue seems to have so severely set in at Milan Fashion Week in the past — two weeks of shows down, two more to go — critics seem invigorated so far by the start of the Italian shows. Gucci walked yesterday, with critics citing the seventies, vintage Yves Saint Laurent, films The Eyes of Laura Mars and Casablaca, and Florence & the Machine's Florence Welch as inspirations for designer Frida Giannini's fall 2011 collection. WWD called it a "feisty lineup that... was all Gucci in its bravado." The Telegraph's Hilary Alexander dubbed it "dandified," "sultry," and "seductive."

"The clothes required no decoding — they’re about well-tailored flash," WWD continues. The opening look came with a jade-green goat-hair jacket, accessorized with a fedora. What followed were fox-fur stoles in brilliant shades of purple, orange, and more jade. Models wore snakeskin boots, and colored feathers in their ponytails. Critics all adored the evening jackets, made from thousands of hand-painted silk petals. Suzy Menkes called those "couture class," and the whole collection "well-thought-out," every accessory "stylish."

"Giannini telegraphed the essence of the Gucci girl," WWD adds. "She likes — make that demands — to be noticed, yet she fancies herself someone to be figured out." Are dandified, seductive furry collars — and snakeskin and hair feathers — really so complicated? She looks like a pimp to us.

See a slideshow of the complete fall 2011 Gucci collection.
Watch the video of the fall 2011 Gucci collection.