Mood board: A proud display of hetero-elegance is distinctly provocative at a time when elsewhere, menswear is making way for a radical revision of masculinity: from the rich, lustrous textiles and frills at Gucci to the queer club-kid get-up of London label Art School. Mr Armani has been at the front line of sensuality with a butch machismo for decades – his models are square-jawed and floppy haired. They have an aromatic brawn.
Best in show: For S/S 2019 the designer presented a wardrobe that was both genteel and freeing. Double-breasted jackets featured, softened from their upright, sartorial stiffness and worn in ways that were easy and relaxed. He offered tailoring for the beach; blousons for the boardroom. Classic Armani looks were re-proportioned, shoulders slightly oversized, trousers wide and turned up at the hem.
Finishing touches: Armani’s gorgeous greiges were here in vibrant, lighter hues: from chalky white – like cliffs by the sea – to natural hemp grey. Lightweight fabrics in blue with turquoise, jade green and sand encouraged a more sun-bleached, sunny look. There was heritage and humour too. Armani’s portrait was embroidered on a black backpack, whilst sweatshirts reintroduced the rounded GA logo from the eighties. It’s the athletic gracefulness we want from the man who invented modern tailoring.
Armani S/S 2019. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
