Emporio Armani: New materials for natty yetis

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jan 14, 2019

Giorgio Armani took Emporio back to nature this season in an unexpected and bold collection whose biggest revelation was the array of remarkable new materials.

 
Hikers, mountaineers, snowboarders and surfers who looked prepared for anywhere from Courcheval to the Himalayas populated the runway. Half the cast wore hiking boots or backpacks ready for a day out in deep snow in this fall 2019 menswear collection on Monday morning, the final day of the Milan season.
 
Armani stopped using any fur several years ago, but there were an amazing array of exotic pelts on the catwalk - though all made of fake fur or treated sheepskin. From a beautiful leather Wild West-style duster treated to look like sealskin, to some intriguing velvets that looked like crocodile, to python-effect printed trousers.

Apart from a half dozen suits – cut, we note, with 70-centimeter backs, well above the bottom – this was a collection destined for the outdoors.
 
His opening looks where chunky, shaggy wool coats, velour blazers and fake croc jerkins in a frosted patina of steel, anthracite and silver. Giorgio varied the mood, mixing day and night with tapered track pants paired with velvet tuxedos. Before sending out a team of polar explorers in padded down parkas, and roomy backpacks in animal print, all in steely gray.

 
“I’d say more like ice,” cracked Armani at post-show press conference in his Tadao Ando-designed world headquarters.
 
“To be honest, if you ask me, I’d say the most suitable place to wear this collection is probably Finland,” said the designer to much laughter.
 
By focusing on just Emporio – the designer will stage his signature menswear collection together with women's in February – the show distilled all that was best about Emporio: its classy approachability, stylish sturdiness and value for money.

Before, in an enlightening moment, Armani suddenly revealed that he would be moving that main runway show again. Albeit just across the street, to his art and exhibition space Armani/Silos.
 
But next up, is Armani Privé haute couture in Paris; and again, he is changing locations. This season to the Hotel d'Evreux in Place Vendome. Talk about an energetic 84-year-old.