After years of streetwear, the tide is apparently turning. Tailoring is getting renewed attention, including from a younger generation of designers and customers. Giorgio Armani, whose influential aesthetic has since the ’80s provided working women with an elegant everyday uniform, is obviously in an ideal position. His archives are bursting with the kind of soft-tailored blazers and elongated, almost liquid pantsuits that feel of-the-moment. So much so that Kaia Gerber has been spotted wearing an Armani blazer, paired with a cool pair of shorts.
Yet nostalgia wasn’t the name of the game for Pre-Fall here. Instead, the Armani classics were given an updated, energetic spin via the use of vibrant colors and reworked graphics, while shapes were kept fluid and fabrics almost weightless. The timeless pantsuits looked fresh, their checkered textures a new take on archival prints. As for the evergreen blazer, it was proposed in slimmed-down versions, malleable and soft as a sweater, and paired with knee-length Bermudas or with shorts-skirt hybrids. A sense of ease was apparent throughout the collection, which riffed on the familiar masculine-feminine dynamic, a territory pioneered by Armani and still mastered with style. Cases in point included a tailored jacket in a micro-checked pattern worn with slim pants in an exuberant floral jacquard, and a rather chic griege trenchcoat with a discreet play of ruffles. Another example was a double-breasted houndstooth blazer cut with relaxed precision in a shimmering sequined texture; worn pajama-style atop a pair of fluid track pants in dove gray velour, it would look cool both on a young girl and on her elegant mother.
