VIVALDI is at the hub of the latest fashions, as seen by me at the recent shows in Paris and Milan. I am very excited about the collections and have traveled the world to bring you back my "picks" for Spring. Here are the trends, as reported by Suzy Menkes, fashion editor of The International Herald Tribune.

Here's the message: "The strength of the Paris collections is that, in their creative diversity, designers are sending a similar message and creating for the new millennium a postfeminist look that is no longer girlie nor aggressively sexy."

"Through designers' very different aesthetic a new womanhood is emerging. It can be defined by what it is not: no overt sexiness, much less flesh and nothing that clings. The result is a confident sense of a well-honed body — understanding how modern women want to dress: in ultra-light fabrics, perhaps given volume with pleats, flat layers of ruffles or drapes.

This season's trends:

Pump Up The Volume — Full skirts and slouchy pants speak "volumes". Fashion enjoyed a '50s flashback, with full skirts, trim Capri pants and shirtdresses.

Return of femininity — This season it's all about women dressing like women.

Dressing for every mood — flirty — hemline interest — handkerchief, fishtail, pleats.

Lingerie — innerwear the new outerwear — Boudoir details like corsets, lace, ribbons.

Prints: jungle, foliage, ripe fruit, Indian wood block, geometric.

Butterfly and full-sleeve blouses.

Crochet or macrame inserts, fringe, Agrican beading

Birds, feathers, spiders and naive animal appliqués

Stripes with flowers; sequins and metallic threads

Tribal colors: orange, amber, chiffon, clay red, lapis blue and turqoise

Deep tooled belts, raffia hats