Emporio Armani: Giorgio’s in a patriotic mood

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jun 15, 2019

It felt like Giorgio Armani had carved out his latest collection for Emporio menswear from some exotic rare earth materials, so unexpected and exotic was the hand and finish of these clothes.

A sporting moment too, seeing as Armani had some 30 Italian athletes, including stars of the nation’s Paralympic team, finish off the show. The designer was in such a patriotic mood, his runway was a giant light projection of the red, white and green Italian flag.
 
Though the big news was the materials, which shone brightly throughout this gutsy display: crinkly metallic jerkins; steely rose-hued suits; coppery dusters and deep gloss smoking jackets.

Throughout, Armani’s skill as a tailor was remarkable – like the deconstructed double-breasted suits or some great new trousers, in either metallic organza or classy English public school boy cricket stripes. All the way to the immense parachute pants, a trio of which were worn by models carrying actual white parachutes.

 
For seaside hours, Armani served up some super relaxed double-breasted jackets in mixes of faded jute, artfully worn linen and beautifully iridescent viscose.
 
One could perhaps fault Armani for slavishly following the recent trend of clunky, high-tech sneakers. We know Demna sold several hundred thousand pairs, but it is not really our idea of Emporio. But overall, this was a noble and punchy fashion statement by a gentleman who still continues to innovative well into his eighties.

 
For his final flurry he showed a dozen tuxedos in bold jacquards in various shades of black.  Before the athletes appeared to prolonged cheers from the audience.
 
"It’s about painting today’s urban reality. It was time for a little change," said the designer post show with a broad smile.