Every season for his own eponymous label or for his Emporio Armani line (the more causal and sportier version of Armani), I swoon at what his house creates and sends down the runway. I respond most to designers, designs, and shows that have a strong inspiration and concept, and a near-performance art presentation. But Armani does not need concepts. He has been creating his own sense of easy luxury for nearly half a century now, and it's still fresh and relevant today.
He deconstructed the men's suit in the 80s, turning it into something soft and sensual, something sexy and flowing, without altering the basic concept of what it was. He removed layers of felting inside suits, making them relaxed and able to behave like thin silk. Just take a look at the iconic clothing from the film "American Gigolo" and you will see what I mean. It was soft and casual with a sense of effortless power. This revolution rippled out into the industry and we see its waves even now: designers still grapple with ways to make suiting less stiff, to make clothing more luxe without being precious, and to make pieces with more innate ease without being sloppy. In short, to make clothes more Armani. But no one does Armani like Armani. Clean lined and impeccably tailored, Armani's sensibility is about luxe fabrics and the way a garment hangs and drapes on the body (of both men and women).
And I could just cry when I look at this Giorgio Armani SS '23 collection at Milano Moda Uomo. My gawd, the silhouettes (relaxed double-breasted or loose single shawl collar jackets...so gorgeous), the draping, the silks, the liquid-y knits...it's all breathtaking to me. But there is also something else that I really respond to in each Armani collection and that is a vague sense, a shadow, an echo of historical fashion. The way a jacket or coat is cut or its stance, the inclusion of waistcoats, belted outerwear, loose cut and high waisted trousers...it all reminds me of...what, the 1920s and 30s? The 1880s? The 1940s and 50s? Yes to all of it. And this sense is included here, but with a little flavor of clothing from India and South East Asia, perfect for a summer collection. And let's look at the colors: soft cream, pale greige, and barely-there pastels give way to a marine colorway again, seen in his Emporio Armani collection from yesterday here, and then to an array of spectacular, deep jewel-toned purples, a color we don't usually see at Armani. But it's the last few looks in a phenomenal shimmer-y grey and silver palette that really gets me where I live.
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