Giorgio Armani brings Milan’s old-world elegance to life
Italian fashion master Giorgio Armani, 88, unveiled a menswear collection celebrating the elegance of yesteryear on Monday, in an emotional parade that brought to life the splendor of Milan’s old palace and its inner courtyards.
The models strolled nonchalantly through the intimate setting of the historic headquarters in via Borgonuovo, far from the frenzy of show fashion, on the fourth day of Men’s Fashion Week in Milan which ends on Tuesday.
What is the message of this fall-winter 2023-2024 collection? “Calm and serenity”, named the veteran of Italian fashion to AFP, still tanned, white hair and blue eyes.
The silhouette of the Armani man is refined, but supple, the cuts are pure and the materials noble and fluid, such as cashmere, alpaca, velvet or curly wool.
“I like to think of the Milan of old palaces, atriums, gardens that you can glimpse, I liked to bring back this serenity” to breathe it into the new collection, explained Giorgio Armani to the press. show number.
If the parade takes place in an imaginary way in the streets of old Milan, the colors of the fabrics are borrowed from nature: gray, beige, greige and the dominant green, with a few touches of ruby red.
Classic corduroy cardigans or jackets, matched with shirts or sweaters in the same tone, are worn over loose but refined trousers that allow freedom of movement.
– Playful spirit –
Strict double-breasted jackets, tailor-made for business meetings, but with slightly puffy ties, classic suits with incorporated hoods… the master gives himself little offbeat notes.
“The rigid whole is not right, you always need a side of transgression, a little relaxation”, revealed Giorgio Armani. And always with “the desire to rethink the classic in modern terms”.
In this playful spirit, he designed a long faux tiger fur coat, not recommended for important work meetings, he ironically.
But the men imagined by Giorgio Armani also come out of their sumptuous homes in sportswear, colorful down jackets and quilted pants, while keeping a refined look.
Then, to bewitching music by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi, Armani stages five couples of models in sparkling evening wear, who embrace and kiss each other before going to the ball.
Closing the show in this way, “it’s a precise choice because we are talking about a man and a woman who love each other”, comments the designer. According to him, it is an invitation to “show more gentleness in relationships”.