AP – Hidden from view in Italy’s frenetic fashion and finance capital are quiet gardens ensconced in Milan’s courtyards.
Giorgio Armani suggests these are places to pause and take stock before emerging for business or play, this season on soft footwear with rubber soles.
Models walked slowly to a soundtrack of Italian pianist-composer Ludovico Einaudi soundtrack while wearing suits and separates that were deeply textured, projecting self-assuredness in the 88-year-old designer’s trademark soft-silhouette.
The colour palette consisted of soft earthy tones set off by olive and forest green with a surge of crimson in sportswear and a final smattering of weekend dandy looks.
Flannel cargo pants were paired with soft sweaters. Disciplined double-breasted suits befitted a negotiating table. Big fake furs, including one in tiger print, lightened the quiet mood.
The show closed with couples dressed in shimmering black evening dresses and formal suits with silk or velvet details chattering down the runway, as if they were leaving a party.
Armani conceded that flashes of skin on other runways had a sensuality. But he stuck by his conviction, “You can wear anything you want, but when you are at an important table, you need to wear an important suit,” he said.
His one transgression: ties that arch under the knot, as if pulled loose, and worn tucked into vests, “to give space to relax. Stiff is not good,” the designer added.
