Front Row at Ermanno Scervino: Fast Lane

At the Ermanno Scervino show on Friday, Marta Marzotto, mother of Matteo Marzotto, the new owner of Vionnet, said she has teamed up with model-turned-designer Maria Buccellati to create a line of accessories. A social and fashion fixture, Marzotto creates costume jewelry in tune with the colorful kaftans she regularly wears, embellished with oversize stones and crystals.

Down the row, Flavio Briatore, whose wife, TV starlet Elisabetta Gregoraci, walked the runway, talked fashion and Formula 1, whose championship kicks off next month. The entrepreneur's men's clothing line, Billionaire, is on a retail roll. Following the opening this year of a store in London's Sloane Street, five more are slated to open in 2009: in India, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Moscow and Australia. As for racing, Briatore, who heads the Renault team, said this will be a "difficult" year, but that perhaps the situation will trigger more efficiency. "Let's hope this extends to other categories in dire straits," he said.