Uptown Girl was the show's title, and Giorgio Armani wasn't about to resist the irrevocable eighties-ness of the idea. But, given Emporio's more mass-tige leanings, he took an interesting tack. In what could have been a nod to Emanuel Ungaro in his heyday, thigh-high ruched chiffon skirts matched jackets with a definite squared shoulder, and there were floaty draped tops, every so often gathered into a flower of fabric. The pleated cropped pants also recalled a particular moment in the passage of haute couture during the eighties.
Aside from one faded floral, Armani used his signature muted greige/oyster/nude palette, which was a modernizing touch. But he definitely ramped up the glam factor, from the fur jackets that were shown in a range of treatments to the Lurex checkerboard jackets and the closing sequence of pieces lathered with large black paillettes. Even when Armani showed a gray pinstripe suit, the skirt was swagged to the side—and super-short. Reality writ large has been a theme in Milan this season, so it makes sense that Giorgio the über-realist should be one of its prime exponents.
