A warm wind blows through Milan with Emporio Armani and Pronounce
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At Emporio Armani, the mood was special. The day before, the fashion house announced that "King Giorgio", as the designer is known, would not be present at the show, as he was "currently convalescing". The first absence in half a century. It was his right-hand man, Leo dell'Orco, in charge of styling for the men's collections, who came to greet everyone at the end of the show. Reassuringly, he declared that Giorgio Armani had followed the show on video and was pleased.
Large white curtains reminiscent of Bedouin tents provided the backdrop for a collection that was rather unusual for the Milanese designer. For his younger, sportier line, this season he chose to draw his inspiration from Eastern cultures, drawing in particular on the colors and imagination of African lands, which he reinterprets and restores in his own language.
The journey began with a desert race, with a battalion of sportsmen in trekking outfits signed EA7, the group's sports line, featuring stretch jerseys, shorts in technical fabrics, lightweight windbreakers, nylon pants, tight-fitting removable sleeves, their heads protected by a turban or Saharan cap. They strode across the catwalk to the threatening sound of the wind, as if fleeing a sandstorm.
After this first passage, the show moved into the heart of the matter with a series of fresh, flowing suits in linen, crepe, and even burlap, in beige and natural tones, mixed with silk pieces in fancy prints with geometric and floral motifs reminiscent of Arab architectural decorations. Irregular stripes on jackets and pants were reminiscent of djellabas.
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Caftans and tunics were revisited in buckskin. Pants were loose-fitting and comfortable, with drawstrings and gathered waists. Jackets and vests are worn next to the skin. The attitude is nonchalant, a touch bohemian. The impression was reinforced by accessories like the poncho or this fringed stole in openwork woven leather. Or fabric bags, sometimes fringed with pearls or woven like Moroccan carpets.
The silhouettes were defined by ethnic accessories, such as small gold rings threaded through braided hair, trinkets or large necklaces ending in tassels, plaited vests fringed with straw. For a more exotic look, men wear a fez or a fringed raffia hat.
For evening, gold threads are used in tapestry silk ensembles in warm, vibrant colors, while shimmering garments with silver reflections dazzle. Outfits were dyed ochre and gold, too, with damask jackets edged with passementerie.
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Pronounce unveiled a collection of contrasts on Saturday morning, combining highly structured tailored pieces such as jackets, blazers, pants, overcoats, and Bermuda shorts, cut from crisp cottons, linen, and canvas, with a series of fluid garments cut from impalpable, fluctuating materials, from blouses and windbreakers to light, loose pants in recycled nylon.
Designers Yushan Li and Jun Zhou, who founded this Italian-Chinese brand in 2016, based between Milan and Shanghai, explained that they were inspired by the traditional Chinese kite, playing on its structure and airy aspect.
Transposed into next summer's wardrobe, this element was reflected in ultra-light silk suits in almost transparent pastel colors, hooded windbreakers transformed into puffy tops, parachute raincoats, while floating shirts in silk or nylon extend into asymmetrical panels, transformed into tunics.
Distributed by some twenty multi-brand retailers around the world, the company took up traditional Chinese classics, such as uniforms, and revisited them through contemporary tailoring. This season, it launched its first line of accessories; shoes in supple, gathered leather, hand-worked, washed and worn, manufactured by the Pronounce laboratory.
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