Black is the new black, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Milan at the autumn fashion collections. The catwalks in the last few days have been one long, flowing river of black, broken up by surprising bolts of pink, orange, red and white.
Black is sober, wearable and risk-free, but are we quite ready for it yet? The fashion faithful who have hit Milan - the latest stop on the international collections circuit - are not so sure.
Tom Ford at Gucci, however, certainly thinks we are. His collection was a procession of black, but a luxurious mix of the hard and the soft, the masculine and the feminine.
He opened with sleek black trouser suits, but sliced them up the leg with zips, or patched them with leather, developing the theme for 1980s and tough chic that he first created for spring. When things looked as though they were getting too hard, he would send out a flirty pink frilled top or a sugary pink fur coat.
Although the mood was tough and linear, Ford has a way of making clothes look sexy and desirable. His evening wear was the cutest, sexiest black lace babydolls we have seen since the 1960s, conjuring up images of late-night movies and pretty blond starlets in their ribbon-tied high heels. Few modern-day starlets or pop singers will be able to resist these.
It was the same for the Dolce & Gabbana collection, where sexy lace dresses over little black shorties will go down a treat with the MTV crowd. The high-frilled necklines and sweet puffy sleeves hinted at uptight Victoriana (a big theme this season), but the message was definitely sexy and revealing.
Steffano Gabbana said he and his design partner, Domenico Dolce, were inspired by the young actress, Chloe Sevigny, who has an idiosyncratic way of mixing vintage and modern and making it look hip.
Filmy flower-printed chiffon dresses looking like precious vintage finds from a Parisian flea-market were softly bloused over skinny leather trousers and high boots. Add a fur-trimmed waistcoat and copious ropes of pearls, and Sevigny's luxurious rag-bag chic look begins to emerge.
Corduroy and tweed trouser suits, tartan shirts took the theme into daywear, but everything was unbuttoned to the waist to reveal pretty lace lingerie, so you were never quite sure whether Dolce & Gabbana was giving a new spin on its great friend Madonna's new country house lifestyle.
In contrast to all the rock-chic and sexkitten imagery that the Italians are so adept at creating is something more architectural and austere in its aesthetic. Prada is another of Milan's most directional labels, but much more sober and thought-provoking in its concept.
Whatever appears on Miuccia Prada's catwalk has a subliminal influence on fashion trends filtering right through to the high street. The most recent example of this was her 1940s look of last year.
Prada is loosely inspired by the past, but she gives it a modern spin. Her new autumn collection is reminiscent of Ossie Clark's girlish dresses of the 1960s, sweet empire-line silhouettes with apron ties worn with lace-knit tights and schoolgirl Mary Jane shoes. However, Prada veers away from making it look cute, by keeping it clean-cut and sober - quite a contrast in a city known for its love of luxury, the flashy and the trashy.