Milan (Italy) (AFP) – One year after the death of Giorgio Armani, his brand’s designs are pairing traditional elegance with crystals and sequins for the spring-summer collection presented on Sunday. Silvana Armani, the Italian designer’s niece, offered black-and-white dresses and ensembles, with necklines sometimes plunging all the way to the navel.
At the company’s headquarters, where Armani was laid in state in September 2025, the models walked slowly down the runway. One of the designs carried multiple images of the late fashion icon. The crystals and lamé of their outfits played with the light from the disco ball hanging from the ceiling. While Armani already used these luminous touches in his eveningwear, Silvana Armani has multiplied them to emphasise the fluidity and lightness of her silhouettes.
Silvana Armani, who worked alongside her uncle for four decades, was greeted with prolonged applause. Her creations are aimed at “a normal woman, self-assured, who, when she gets dressed, feels good in our clothes,” she said in an interview with Vogue magazine. “I don’t want to imitate him but I try to resemble him,” she said of her uncle. She has also introduced some changes, like taking away hats from the designs. “My uncle liked hats. I don’t, so I allowed myself to change the rules a bit,” she said.
Emporio Armani, the group’s second brand, had on Wednesday unveiled the last mixed collection designed by Leo dell’Orco and Silvana Armani, ahead of the arrival of Dario Vitale. This summer collection looked weathered by seawater and wind. Salt crystals used to treat the garments were also reproduced on jackets and brooches.
On Monday, Milan passes the baton to Paris, where the collections of Dior, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, and Carven will be presented.
© 2024 AFP
