The Italian talk

Checks, stripes and Sofia-Loren inspired femininity are some of the fashion trends kicking off Milan's Fashion Week. Designer Rocco Barocco shows off black and white checks dabbed with scarlet and violet for his winter 2008 womenswear collection.

The biggest name of the week so far was the designer Giorgio Armani who went back to black with his younger Emporio Collection.  "After seasons of colour, black is back," Armani said. "But, to be truthful, it has never really gone away."

Shown against a video backdrop of giant zips, buckles and mirror panels, the preponderance of black never hinted at the gothic.

And Armani, sensibly, spiced-up the black parade with flashes of fuschia, emerald and violet, a hint of brown and grey, the shiny sparkle of coin-sized sequins and beads and, even, a leopard-print clutch-bag.

Yesterday, the catwalks were the stage for D&G, Gianfranco Ferre, Jill Sander and Burberry.

The Milan Fashion Week will run until this Saturday.

Armani design