Giorgio Armani misses Milan Fashion Week for the first time in 50 years, but his designs shine

MILAN (AP) – Giorgio Armani’s menswear collection for the next warm weather season encoded the geography of summer in textures, geometrical designs and his signature relaxed silhouettes.

The 90-year-old designer skipped the runway preview show closing Milan Fashion Week on Monday to recover from an undisclosed condition, but his fashion house said he kept a hand in the designs and watched the runway show on live stream.

It marked the first time in his career that the designer was absent.

Taking the closing bow in his stead was Armani’s longtime head of menswear, Leo Dell’Orco, who has worked alongside Armani for 45 of the Giorgio Armani fashion house’s 50 years.

“He liked it,” Dell’Orco told reporters after the show, adding that Armani was especially happy to see that he had sent male-female couples down the mostly menswear runway in matching looks, underlining their versatility.

The collection was classic Armani: roomy wide pleated trousers paired with a seemingly endless array of softly constructed jackets, from a double-breasted made casual with shawl collars to shirt-weight leather coats. Vests with a deep-V front substituted for shirts, for looks that transition from work to leisure.

The collection found balance in the melding of textures – raw linen, woven leather, soft suede and flowing silk. From a distance, ensembles may have appeared monochromatic, but a closer look revealed a harmonious blending of seemingly mismatched geometrical patterns and textures, adding depth to the looks.

There was a touch of the exotic in the shapes, like Nehru collar, tunics or a kimono jacket, reflecting Armani’s love of travel, without overwhelming the mood.

Delicate decorative pins reflected the light, the sole adornment. Beachy touches included rope sandals and belts, which cinched through a loop.

The showroom was awash in Mediterranean blue and featured installations of obsidian black stones, reflecting the sophisticated color palette that included washed-out desert shades, the palest green, deep blues and urban blacks and gray.

Front-row guests included actors Giancarlo Esposito, who most recently appeared in “Captain America: Brave New World,” and Jason Isaacs, who was in the third season of “White Lotus.”