Giorgio Armani staged a trio of stellar signature shows Sunday morning to close out Milan Fashion Week, and still found time to snipe at out-of-date fashion, and praise Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – for toughness.
So great is demand for any Armani event, Giorgio held three shows in the custom-made show-space in his historic Renaissance palazzo at 41 via Borgonuovo in central Milan.
In between the first two shows, Armani held court in a 15-minute press conference for some 30 editors, speaking quietly but firmly in Italian with his customary self-confidence.
Before drawing an impressive front row that included Cate Blanchett, Chinese actress Liu Shishi, Korean star Ji Chang Wook, Gio perfume global ambassador Aaron Taylor-Johnson, ‘Back to Black’ director Sam Taylor-Johnson and Giorgio’s new menswear campaign star, French actor Louis Garrel.
This season, Armani looked to one of his most important sources of inspiration, the east, embellishing many looks in chrysanthemums, and finishing beautiful velvet jackets with chinoiserie and silk panels of Chinese imagery. Above all, using dragonflies and flowers as motifs throughout in a collection entitled ‘Winter Flowers’.
He opened the show with Gina di Bernardo, a veteran Italian beauty who was the face of famous 80s and 90s ad campaigns by an old Armani favorite photographer Aldo Fallai. Gina appearing in a putty gray silk duster, topped by a floral bonnet. Like many models, she wore flower-printed slippers.
Armani cut soft languid trousers, and structured shouldered jackets; many in floral prints or finished with flower embroidery. Though many of the actual jackets were in black or midnight blue.
“I love the idea of winter flowers, for the simple reason there are not that many in that season,” noted the designer.
For evening, he won rounds of applause for the some utterly magical gowns, like an emerald green velvet off the shoulder look finished with crystal flowers. The show rising to a crescendo with the speakers booming out ‘L’amour et La Violence’ by Sebastien Tellier.
Before the entire audience stood together in prolonged applause as Armani took a 30-second ovation, a few tears gently falling from one eye.
Pre-show, the 89-year-old designer confessed that “the exciting sensation of doing a show remains the same as when I began.” Before he turned his guns on overindulgence in fashion.
“We have accepted in our world too much nonsense in the search for newness or extravagance. So, it’s difficult to create a coherent statement. There is a lot of moda our there I would like to annul,” he sniffed.
Asked about Italian prime minister Meloni, who became the first extreme right-wing leader of a major European democracy last year, Armani complimented her on her toughness.
“I believe that she had important elements in her figure. She has,” he said, holding his hands in two circles to suggest Meloni had ba…. A gesture that caused a large round of laughter among the 30 editors.
“In terms of her politics and strategy, I am not competent to comment. I do notice sometimes I see her rather small beside the big tall heads of other foreign states in Europe. But, also sometimes in photos she can have a very beautiful face,” he smiled.
Like many Italian fashion professionals, Armani confessed to being unhappy about Milan compressing so many shows into barely four days. He explained he had written to the Camera della Moda, which governs all runway schedules in Milan, to complain.
“My observation is that the season has become not what it should be. Why are all these little foreign designers coming here to show any old thing? Or some absurd style. Who gives a damn, frankly!” he yelled.
The great lion of Italian fashion still can roar.
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