Milan Fashion Week: Aquilano & Rimondi, The Talk of Milan

Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi are the design team behind Gianfranco Ferré as well as their newly named label Aquilano.Rimondi. With this much output, the duo—formerly of 6267—is the talk Milan Fashion Week.

As creative directors at Gianfranco Ferré, the talented twosome was bound for some scrutiny. Though their efforts garnered mixed reviews, the response to the collection's architectural femininity was mainly positive. For their Aquilano.Rimondi line they abandoned the architectural aesthetic in favor of a softened approach. With a '20s vibe, they introduced jewel tone satin separates and paillettes-covered dresses, all tinged with traces of Egyptian bohemia via layers of mismatched, textured fabric and strands of chunky stone necklaces.

Despite these fresh starts, the duo has been seized by a sea of bad press and ill-will not seen since the days of Julien McDonald at Givenchy in 2001. Talk of the unceremonious dismissal of long term manufacturing partner Castor s.r.l.—who critics say was key to Aquilano and Rimondi's ascendency—has ruffled more than a few feathers.

The Milan-based designers are picking up an unscrupulous reputation that had one unnamed editor declaring: "I don't like those guys, I don't trust them." The word is that while the twosome brim with talent, they should mind the bridges they're already burning.

—Jason Campbell