Milan Fashion Week: menswear

Giorgio Armani, Spring/Summer '09 (scroll down to read the review)
Giorgio Armani
With sitar music as the sound track, it was clear that Armani was looking east for inspiration. This time it was to Bali, Malaysia and most of all India (could it be that he too is planning major expansion into the newest of the markets for European luxury goods?).

Tailoring, both 'formal and comfortable', was relaxed by swapping the belt with a casually knotted scarf on the waist. Yet the news was either in shirts, where all that was left of the collar was the stand, or pants, where many new hybrids with oriental roots were offered. Ties were scarce, in their place were scarves, worn on the shoulders.

Even if the styles were influenced from afar, the colours were pure Armani: subtle as usual, grey was predominant (as it was throughout Milan), here verging on the putty, twine or green. Madras checks (a theme also seen at Fendi, and previously at Bottega Veneta) worked well, as did perforated leather, the only kind of skin to have right now.