Just like the products of basketry that the backdrop referred to, this Emporio collection was fashioned of many strands. Within it was woven the highly contemporary against fresh expressions of a canon that is classically Armani. The former included molded rubber basket weave-texture Wave shoes, a midsection sextet of highly technical EA7 looks, and a sleeveless hoodie decorated with a watercolor palm tree and a jute-embroidered declaration of “l’amour.” The result was a collection broad enough to appeal to a wide spectrum of taste that was also consistent with the house identity.
There was so much heaped in it that you had to pick and choose your choicest morsels. These included a baseline opening section of chambray colored informal suiting and marine-inspired wear crafted in complicated fabrics precisely cut. Wide-legged slashed ankle pants declared their orthodoxy here in multiple fabrications. Monochrome looks played black jacket against white pants and vice versa, in a casual mix and match evening section.
Post EA7 there was a vibrant-meets-violent eruption of color—amped-up shades of lime and pineapple—that played against printed silk shirts and jacquard deconstructed blazers patterned with a jaunty jumble of shapes. Then the tide turned to reveal a stretch of looks in the palest shades of greige, which served to reveal details including the delicate pinstripe effect in perforation-lined pants and jackets. Two models emerged toting basketweave suit carriers that were almost as handsome as the looks which swept the polished floor behind them.
The final section closed with a triptych of torsos: first came a brace of drawstring paper bag linen pants patterned with stripe and coral, then a final look consisting of a palm tree painted jacket and more perfect-for-the-season airy pants. Wearing his Waves, the model danced down the runway and out the door. Armani is coming around, again.
