Giorgio Armani s shows exist in a universe of their own. They are epically scaled rummages through the mind of a designer who has passed over the course of four industry-defining decades from revolutionary to pillar of the fashion establishment. Sometimes Armani looks to his strengths and comes up trumps. Other times, he takes a leap into a challenging unknown and meets with less success. On the whole, today s Emporio show counts as one of the latter exercises.
It was, somewhat mystifyingly, called Kajal. Otherwise known as kohl, kajal is a pigment that s been used to color cosmetics for centuries. So that probably explained a palette that ranged from creamy pinks to smoky blues. Compatible with the Armani we know, true. There were also vestiges of that designer in the soft tailoring of a jacket, or the mannish sweep of a coat. But what really shaped this collection was Armani s longtime passion for Japan, here utilized in its more avant-garde extremes. If you ve ever wondered what it would be like to see Giorgio Armani cross-pollinated with Rei Kawakubo, look no further than Emporio s two-dimensional bonded velvets. The volumes of knife-pleated pants and shorts, the Edwardian-tinged high waists and petaled hems hinted too at neo-Japonisme.
The presentation today also put on full display Armani s affection for hats. There wasn t a bare head in the whole show, a reminder of the era when the man s aesthetic was shaped in childhood. This experimental collection showed that, to his credit, he hasn t lost his sense of play.
