Giorgio Armani talks fashion
for next winter, urges designers to focus on clothes that sell (Antonio Calanni/ Associated Press )
MILAN — Giorgio Armani had the last
word at Milan Fashion Week, and not only where the clothes were concerned.
Speaking to reporters between his two
shows on Monday, the closing day of preview shows for the fall-winter 2013-2014
season, the designer lashed out at some colleagues who in his opinion are more
interested in spectacles than sales.
“One thing is to put on a play, the other is
to create fashion,” Armani said.
“It’s not about models wearing gold
crowns, “ Armani said, taking a jab at Sunday’s show of another design team with its
Byzantine princess motif. “(It’s) about what you can find in the store.”
Armani has said 75 percent of his
second line, Emporio Armani, which showed Saturday, has already been sold.
It may sound like the 78-year-old,
ever-tanned, white-haired designer who put the made-in-Italy label on the
international fashion map in the early 1980s was pontificating. But last
night’s Oscar dress list showed Armani head-to-head with Dior, proof the
designer knows what he’s talking about.
Along with Jessica Chastain and Naomi
Watts, Armani dressed child star and best actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis in
a sparkling navy blue dress with a big back bow from his Armani Junior line.
Noting that new markets, like China,
love the live presentations, he disagreed with those who would do away with
fashion shows altogether. Instead Armani suggested that the format be revisited
to ensure that the clothes are the focal point.
Armani’s latest winter collection on
Monday came almost all in black, with accents of gray, navy and red. The
chic-yet-simple collection spoke to a contemporary woman, who in the designer’s
own words is “a little man, a little woman, and a lot of both.”
Admiring front-row guests included
singer Janet Jackson and a scattering of royalty: Charlene Wittstock, wife of
Prince Albert of Monaco, and Tatiana Blatnik, wife of Prince Nicholas of Greece
and Denmark.
The collection featured ultra-feminine
long skirts in velvet or sequined chiffon, worn with tiny double-breasted or
flared jackets. But the look also came with wide pants, complete with
decorative suspenders. Evening pants were also paired with dazzling sequined
tops.
Armani had more pants, including
jumpsuits and Bermuda shorts, in his collection than most designers this round,
where ladylike skirts and dresses were the preferred look.
Armani’s only concession to eccentric
show stoppers were his funky Russian-inspired felt and furry hats, worn with
every outfit.
“To each his own crown,” the designer
quipped.
See the below in Armani
