>> If Frida Giannini is good at one thing, it's selling clothes, and bags, and shoes, and accessories.  The attendees of her Spring 2009 Gucci show will admit that she's a "master merchandiser," but another, perhaps less flattering, comparison for her collection kept coming up — Zara.

Those reviewing express disdain for Frida's blatant merchandising — at WWD: "Gucci looks are all over Zara. The argument that they seem more appropriate to such a venue than to the upper echelons of luxury fashion hasn’t put a damper on sales of the real thing, even in the United States, where everyone knows that almost nothing is selling."  At The Wall Street Journal: "Not every designer puts such an array of products on the catwalk, even though they will appear in stores. At first glance, there was nothing much about either the fabrics or silhouettes of the clothes that would make them stand out from fast-fashion imitators [Zara and H&M]."

Even Cathy Horyn of The New York Times said her piece: "Apart from the updated Jackie bags and chunky stone bracelets, how luxurious was it? The olive and khaki safari dresses, with zips and drawstrings, were cute and well-executed. But are they a look you expect from Gucci, or Liz Claiborne?" Some food for thought.
*image: source