Giorgio Armani was a god to the army of American executive women in the 1980s. He harnessed the power of the greige pantsuit, the idea that this subtle uniform would arm women as they crashed through glass ceilings on their then-thought-imminent progress to equal pay and equal rights with men. Well, a generation later, with that struggle still nowhere near won, many designers are looking back to the classics of ’80s power-woman style this season. It’s an odd source of inspiration, this one—begging the question, “Why should what didn’t work the last time around have any more effect now?”
Anyway, in 2018, Giorgio Armani is still designing in greige—and dusty rose—as on this runway, but the daytime power suit has been dissolved into softer layers. Oddly, it was an alternative sense of the 1980s that transpired—the cocoon coats that used to be seen at Romeo Gigli and the bubble skirts that made Christian Lacroix’s name way back when. After this nod to a re-assimilated past, he got down to business. What stood out in this collection was the eveningwear: his crystal-beaded, embroidered, and fringed jackets, contrasted with black velvet. Finally, the pièce de résistance was a great merge of Armani tailoring and glam: a crystal-studded pantsuit. It could well armor a non-girly woman on the red carpet at the Academy Awards. In the age of #TimesUp, there must be plenty who are scanning the collections for an alternative to the strapless, encumbering “red carpet” gown.
