Armani mixes signature tailoring with nod to TikTok in Milan show
Share:
Cavernous totes and trouser pleats join broad-shouldered jackets with just enough construction to create shape. For 50 years, Giorgio Armani has only ever wanted “to dress real men, not an invented character who only exists on the runway”. Speaking before launching his autumn collection in Milan, this may have sounded a strange thing to say before a fashion show, but it does explain why the Italian designer has rarely deviated from the look on which he has made his fortune.
![[Morwenna Ferrier]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/09/Morwenna-Ferrier,-L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
If other brands are driven by changing markets, celebrity fashion and the need for memes, Armani just follows his customers. “Italian fashion today is difficult to define as a formula for style,” he said. “It is more a way of doing things.”. Still, how long this continues is up in the air. The king of Milanese fashion and sole shareholder of a company recently valued by Forbes at $13bn (£10bn) has confirmed he will retire soon.
![[A model takes to the runway in Giorgio Armani’s Milan show.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/4d3d83e2a2a59244cc1ede61b16fd0c5288a16e0/0_207_4844_6522/master/4844.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“At 91, age is undoubtedly a factor to contend with,” he said. “I will continue as long as my health and energy permit, but taking a step back in the near future is inevitable.” Yet he still has no heir to his throne. Armani is the designer who transformed stiff suiting and brought Italian style to Hollywood. And on Monday’s catwalk, this was no different. Broad-shouldered jackets – his calling card now and then – came with just enough construction to create shape. Wool and velvet trousers were flattering but baggy enough not to constrict. Bags were cavernous, and so were trouser pleats. As ever, the waists were low. On the front row sat the actors Adrien Brody and Joe Alwyn, both presumably hunting down their Oscars outfits.
![[Bags feature prominently in the collection.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/e80fd7c3e408ab3eda9c5afd24a775a27110e008/0_0_1339_3072/master/1339.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
