Giorgio Armani showcased every kind of blue on the Spring Emporio Armani runway. For Pre-Fall, he was up to something different. This was less an exploration of a single color than it was a panoply of prints. The best of the bunch was the ikat motif. Blown up to oversize proportions, it had a strong graphic appeal. A cropped parka in the pattern would make a great weekend jacket—pop it on over black jeans and you'd be good to go. The sheared patchwork fur with leather trim was more luxe but still fun. The other idea Armani touched on was the male/female mix: cocktail dresses with flat boots, full skirts with oxfords, and, most interestingly, pants with ankle-strap heels. After all this time, you'd think he's done just about all there is to do with pants, but his Pre-Fall trousers, full through the leg and cinched by a button at their mid-calf hem, qualify as something new.
