When the announcement went out that Christian Pellizzari would be making his Milan runway debut at Giorgio Armani's theater, the designer remarked that "it was like a bomb exploded."

The 33-year-old native of Treviso, near Venice, has taken cues both from the disciplined sartorial brand Tonello, where he honed the skills of an Italian craftsman, and from the extravagance of Vionnet's Paris couture, where he later worked.

Pellizzari's looks seek to balance those two extremes. His tailoring gives a serious fashion underpinning to such extravagances as embroidered and sequined peonies, that are a motif of the season. The designer says his goal is to create clothes that his friends back home would wear, not just fashionistas. So he combines cropped jacquard trousers with casual lace-sleeved cotton tops.

An embroidered top "could be worn at the beach with a pair of shorts," he said backstage.

He called the looks American Gigolo and heralded the free spirit by sending models down the artificial turf runway barefoot, tassels dangling around their ankles in a tribal touch.

Pellizzari , who launched his own brand four years ago, is the latest up-and-coming designer selected by Armani to preview their collections at his theater. It's part of Milan's efforts to inject fresh energy into fashion weeks.

ROCK 'N'ROLL'S 'LIBERATED ELEGANCE'

A leisure suit silhouette with flared trousers, followed by leather biker outfit with laced outer seams, convey a vaguely 1970s vibe — or more specifically, an American honky-tonk tone — in Ennio Capasa's new collection for Costume National.

But the looks defy preconceived notions. Suits are worn without shirts, or with just a vest. And instead of ties, a neat foulard is knotted just askance of the Adam's apple. Ankle boots confirm the western feel.

The runway show's setting, a big white industrialized space, made the colors pop: a monochrome purple suit with matching shirt, another in burnt orange, then more in soothing shades of blue. Outfits followed of pure white, with diaphanous shirts that looked more like blouses.

Capasa said he was inspired by the "liberated elegance" of rock icons, including Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Lou Reed.

The looks were finished with sunglasses and hobo bags worn over the shoulder, not in the more masculine cross-body fashion.