Where Giorgio Armani had taken a giant leap with his line, shown yesterday, with its youthful spirit and fresh ideas, his Giorgio mainline collection shown today at the close of Milan Fashion Week, was a calm, refocused pitch to the Armani faithfuls.
He called it Garconne and reinterpreted his long-held fascination with masculine cuts for women the idea being that pieces could be mixed according to attitude and mood. So narrow velvet trousers and a neoprene bomber jacket, say, worn with flat velvet boots for day, might be teamed with a more dressy satin jacket that fastened with round, golf ball-sized buttons and lacquered heels for evening. Almost everything came with the obligatory Armani hat this time, an oversized soft velvet beret.
The collection was largely black a common thread here in Milan and dedicated to Armanis tailoring skills. Neat shouldered jackets with loose or slim trousers, or long velvet skirts worn with wide patent cummerbund belts that fitted snugly over the hips before gently flaring out towards the hem. Armanis beloved Bermuda shorts-cum-skirts were also much in evidence.
The eveningwear section was, in true Armani-style, extremely elegant. His Garconne theme was taken to the max, with a glistening silver jumpsuit or trousers attached to sparkling suspenders that were un poco racy, designed to cover the breasts and flash a good deal of skin. There were more sculptural pieces too one black jacket cut to dramatically wave on one shoulder, was what an Armani devotee might consider avant-garde. She will love his purist take on monochrome a pristine white silk top with a high neck and long flared sleeves, worn with those slim black velvet trousers and a patent black clutch bag, would be a head-turning number in real life reality, rather than fantasy showpieces always firmly at the forefront of Armanis mind.
Simple but effective. Thats how Giorgio Armani got across his clear, strong message today.
