Gucci Spring 2010 Men´s.

Hard to believe there was a time when Frida Giannini's tenure at Gucci was controversial.

Each season she has honed her point of view, broadened her repertoire, and the company now thrives in her image.

For Spring 2010, Giannini introduced an energetic sportiness, with references to scuba and kitesurfing in leggings and parkas that collaged nylon, cotton, Aertex, and leather.

The same active spirit inspired croc and python jackets with a rubberized effect.

Such items imply an irreverence toward traditional notions of luxury, and that is exactly how Giannini has goosed Gucci.

What she loses in subtlety, she gains in a flashy exuberance that is increasingly hard to resist.

For instance, the white cotton jacquard suits that opened the show, paired with bright kilim-patterned shirts and pebble-soled more-moc-than-loafers, were so true to Giannini's own fantasy of stylish young people at play that they oozed their own type of integrity (I think the Latin expression is sui generis).

Likewise the lean, mean evening suits in a midnight silk jacquard that gleamed like sharkskin.

They made Fridaworld look like fun. And Gucci's numbers suggest thousands would agree.

Philip Huang

Rene Rodriguez

Philip Huang