Just before his Privé show, Giorgio Armani revealed that he was dedicating it to the incredible and iconoclastic Franca Sozzani, the late Italian Vogue editor in chief, and her beautiful smile. Note that he said dedicated, not inspired, and while it would be way too presumptuous of me to weigh in on their professional relationship over the years, it was impossible not to feel a respectful nod to Sozzani in the collection. Perhaps it was the poetic layering of tulle or the glinting beading that was period yet modern, too, hallmarks of the more vintage side of Sozzani’s distinctive brand of elegance. It was certainly evident in the way that this Privé collection, chic and sharply focused, was pure and uncompromisingly Armani—just as Sozzani, no matter what subject matter she tackled on her pages (the environment, domestic violence, the lack of representation for women of color), stood by an editorial voice and vision that never did anything less than celebrate the beauty of defiance.
The explicit theme of the collection was actually mystery, and one might consider that the enigma Armani was trying to solve here was how to take the trademark lightness he has been long associated with and explore it in new ways, most strikingly with color or, more accurately, the absence of it. This was, unusually for him, a show with a relatively dark and somber palette of deep black that flashed every now and then with ruby red or hot pink or, with some of the opening looks, soft sapphire and deep lilac. The show opened with a series of suits tailored to an exemplary level—unadorned, with curving peplums—sometimes worn with masculine trousers, other times with lean skirts in watery shades of pink and lavender that had been edged with black patent leather scrolls and furls that echoed those of lace. From there on in there were meditations on the graphic, linear, and sculptural shaping of black close to and away from the bod in a series of evening looks—gentle and easy (beaded short-sleeved shirts worn with gauzy layered floor-length skirts) to strapless sheaths and sweeping gowns lavished with crystal beading and veiling, many with decorative motifs of flowers or the flight paths of birds. The latter was particularly apt for a collection focused on what can happen when you see the possibilities in soaring lightness.
