Do you want to be in Giorgio s club? With his new Emporio collection, Armani s stated aim was to create an inner circle of style, its criteria for acceptance being the ability to appreciate the designer s aesthetic code. It s the kind of offbeat notion to which Armani has been partial of late, but in fact the idea of a club—or at least a nightclub—turned out to be a fairly useful metaphor for this show. At heart, the collection was about the glamour of dressing for the night—only right round the clock. The models, with their smudged eyes, penciled-in gigolo mustaches, 12 o clock shadow, and two-tone shoes, looked like tango dancers on a bender. The music—mad gypsy violin versions of "Layla" and "Riders on the Storm"—matched perfectly. And the clothes had a sheen that hinted at moonlight rather than summer sun.
The mood was generally more formal than one might expect from a summer collection. Even the Bermuda shorts—pinstriped, worn with a jacket and shawl-collared waistcoat—looked ready for La Scala. And when the collection veered into more obviously sporty territory, it still had a formal edge (the red of a jacket in a techno fabric ran in a stripe down the leg of the accompanying trousers). On the other hand, that sports group also featured a pair of sheer plastic pants that cried out for Iggy Pop s brand of exhibitionism. The same fabric appeared as baggy, suspendered shorts on the "players" in the World Cup–themed finale. Mr. Armani also took his bow in shorts, a gesture of solidarity you d expect from any good club manager.
