Trussardi 1911: Will Americans Dare to Wear It?

For a small Italian firm that began by making gloves, Trussardi 1911 has come a long way; and under the current creative leadership of Milan Vukmirovic the label is evolving even more rapidly as it nears its 100th anniversary. Trouble is, the company's clothes and accessories are so unapologetically decorative they haven't made inroads with American shoppers. It's still a label for fashion insiders, whose quest for rare items provides a thrill that's often lost when brands go global.

But Trussardi is in no immediate danger of ubiquity on this side of the Atlantic, because average Americans don't like to stand out: they find comfort in Beau Brummel's mossy platitude that to attract notice is to be over-dressed. Nonsense. In the 21st century, the phrase "over-dressed" is just Victorian hot air. FA2L knows Kander & Ebb were much closer to the mark when they (or, perhaps more accurately, Liza) suggested that life is a cabaret. In other words, get your act together or prepare to be booed off the stage.