In a dramatic transformation of his founding aesthetic, Giorgio Armani cut himself loose from the feminist generation - and wooed those women's daughters.
"Just six pants outfits," said Mr. Armani backstage, as he greeted the tennis star Roger Federer, who joined Janet Jackson in the front row. The music star proved that pants can still look sassy.
But it was not just trousers that were played down in this presentation of short dresses, sometimes worn over brief shorts and always with the upswept hair and flat sandals that created a look of nice young girls on the party trail.
Banished too was beige, that onetime Armani signature. From the moment that bright lights started winking from the shiny black floor, the colors flashed red, blue and purple. A geometric grid and a smattering of flowers made the clothes seem pertly feminine. Low décolletés or strapless bodices above the short, rounded skirts left no doubt that the fashion maestro of androgynous 1980s had changed his tune.
Did it work? As a statement that a great designer should not be associated with only one look, this collection was bold and clear. Sparkling jewelry (and sometimes sequins glittering on the shoes) sent out a further message that minimalism is no longer on the Armani agenda.
Yet something was lost in this transfer of styles. It would have been intriguing to see the designer, whose tailoring skills are awesome, rebuild his mannish silhouette from the shoulders, in a way that so many younger designers try to emulate. Instead, this collection looked like an escape - even the dark lighting suggesting that Mr. Armani had switched off the office lights and gone out to party.
But then, as he said himself backstage: "These dresses are my statement. There is everything else in the showroom." – International Herald Tribune
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