WHILE he may be hovering on the cusp of his 87th birthday, do not doubt Giorgio Armani’s artisanal abilities, for the fashion maestro just showed a couture collection that was a heady mix of soft tailoring, breezy silhouettes and fluid couture of a fairy tale nature.
Although, in recent seasons, Armani has been a notable absentee from the couture line-up, diverging from the traditional show schedule, his collection was hosted at the Italian Embassy in Paris for a second time – stirring the sensibilities of both Milan and Paris.
Armani crafted Mercurial silk organza in abundance, a fabric that lives and breathes on the wearer, slithering, swirling and dancing along the seams, almost too crude, yet far too hypnotising to resist. Chiffon blouses are given structure with crinoline ruffles, which drift over relaxed silk trousers of rich fuchsias, jade greens and iridescent cornflower blues.
Interwoven with ultra-fine metallic thread, the satins and silks appear like molten lava, dripping from the body like a flowing, glowing blaze. Ample dresses are embellished with a multitude of cool lavender ruffles, supported with a fine structure that allowed them to float above the ground.
The accessories uphold the stream of shimmer, featuring nude-toned sock-boots studded with crystals and bags composed from wispy plumes.
Certain dresses were overlaid with a mesh netting, adorned in delicate sequins that replicated the scattered shimmer of dewdrops of sorts, residing on a skeletal web, similar to how the silk’s fluidity imitated the illusion of rippling water.
However ostensibly, there seemed to be a more powerful undercurrent pulling this collection along, a message on the importance of progress, movement and touch post-pandemic, with all the joys they possess.
by Sophia Ford-Palmer