MILAN, Italy, Sept 24, 2009 (AFP) - Giorgio Armani let the body do the talking Thursday 24 September in Milan, with his spring/summer 2010 collection using bold linear cuts to set off bare shoulders and legs.

Photo: AFP/Giuseppe Cacace

Hemlines are high, day and night, on chic and sometimes playful creations in his trademark sumptuous solids of blue, green and new "low voltage" reds and worn with flats, quite a rarity on the catwalks.

"Body Art," he says, "is a form of physical language, a fusion of performance and gesture, movement that displays an attitude and unleashes creativity."

An off-the-shoulder motif ran through the show, while some of the creations for evening exposed the back and large swathes of the front.

Playful highlights included peek-a-boo cutouts, geometric appliques and slit skirts revealing short shorts.

Returning to Milan after recovering from hepatitis, Armani, 75, looked thinner but at ease as he posed with his models after the show.

US singer Janet Jackson and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi ("Sophie's Revenge") were among the celebrity guests at the event.

Miuccia Prada showed lots of leg as well on Thursday 24 September, often flowing as a seeming afterthought from tight briefs or shorts under more eye-catching tops wrapped in wide jackets or capes.

A carefree spirit infused most of the catwalks, recession be damned.

Moschino Cheap and Chic offered up a feast of frivolity, proposing straw hats with oversized white petals for a brim, sassy shorts and layer upon layer of ruffles -- even on an applique goose stitched to the front of a blouse.

Features are oversized but not clownish: big white polka dots on black short shorts, the word "peace" writ large over a chiffon top, or thumbnail-sized sequins trimming a black jacket over pink shorts.

One bare shoulder sports an oversized bow while the other is draped with a balloon sleeve; polka dot short shorts are topped with a white tunic or voluminous blouse cinched with a red belt.

To add to the fun, how about a tuxedo minidress or a technicolour mummy look, with loose strips floating in the spring air?

If Wall Street still blanches at demands for more transparency, Antonio Marras was all for it, with diaphanous floral creations seeming to float over his models like a dream.

Many revealed undergarments that were strangely pedestrian, something your Aunt Mildred might wear.

Straw hats with light blue rose trims evoked summer bliss, while satin shorts with cuffs in solid burgundy or turquoise emanated nonchalance.

Just Cavalli combined see-through effects with a bit of punk, recalling Madonna in "Desperately Seeking Susan" with pointy bras sported on the outside.

Jean jackets get a makeover with satin or cotton linings, and fringes are everywhere, whether on a biker's jacket or a dinner jacket, handbags or shoes -- or even a revisited Charleston-era frock.

Blugirl too had anything but the recession blues as models displaying Anna Molinari's youth-oriented line paraded with great white bows in their hair and tops emblazoned with red flowers or the words "I Love You" in big red letters.

D&G, the youth line of Milan duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, evokes the sea air with a marine theme of blue and white stripes accented with big red anchors.

On Friday 25 September, Versace, Gianfranco Ferre, Jil Sander and Alberta Ferretti take their turns on the catwalk.

Milan Fashion Week runs through next Wednesday (30 September).

By Gina Doggett