The first gray cashmere flannel suit, loose of leg and long of jacket, was accessorized at its peak lapel by a red stone brooch in the shape of a lion’s head. The near-identical look that followed it featured a brooch shaped like a crab. Silvana Armani’s star sign is Leo, while her late uncle Giorgio Armani was a Cancer. This was the only explicit runway gesture toward the profound shift in the Armani universe that this collection marked as Silvana’s first as designer in chief. Yet there were also implicit signs within the clothes she proposed.
There was a beautifully confident consistency to the opening section’s exploration of tailored form around a template of dark flannel, pale pants, and off-red belt. The asymmetry of Look 10’s double-breasted shawl-collared facade was reflected in the triple pleats at the back of the shoulder. Looks 6 and 23 included three-button blousons in cashmere and shearling with a square-edged dropped hem at the back: These mirrored the raised neckline above the bosom of the burgundy jacquard belted rompers later. A few long coats made precise calculation impossible, but there seemed to be only one outfit—Look 3’s severely luxurious kangaroo-pocket flannel dress and darker overcoat—that didn’t feature pants.
The middle section blended elements of militarywear and East Asian tradition in kimono-collared silk-lined jackets and fitted quilted silk-satin shirt-jacket accessories with faux-fur detailing. Armani kept her forms almost minimalist while slowly increasing the embellishment via embroidered decorative patches and chinoiserie silk jacquard. Look 34’s remixed bomber jacket in flannel-lined silk expanded the proportion of the piece and pushed the pockets forward to allow for an attitude of easy élan. Toward the end, we heard a new cover performed by Mina of Fausto Leali’s song “A Costo di Morire,” a heartfelt lament of lost love, jealousy, and obsession.
Last week, Armani told Vogue Runway: “Dressing a woman is more complex than dressing a man. Yet as a woman, you know your body. You try things on, notice if a jacket’s length is off, and tweak it. In a way, I am the measure of what I create. Designing for women, as a woman, makes me start from lived experience rather than fantasy or idealization.” This collection’s most successful pieces were its most evidently livable, many of which were in the first two-thirds of the show. The more fantastical eveningwear toward the end felt less intentionally defined and more drawn from the great wellspring of precedent Armani has at her disposal in the archives. However, this was an important first step in Giorgio Armani’s new phase.
