THE WEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING

VAGUE, VAPOROUS AND VOGUE BY TURNS IS EMPORIO ARMANI SPRING/SUMMER 2020

IF EMPORIO ARMANI’S spring/summer 2020 collection appears to float, wisp and breeze down the runway, then it plays both vague and vogue simultaneously, living up to its fleeting, invisible billing, titled as it is, Air. The maestro Giorgio Armani himself describes the soft colours and surfaces as being redolent of an attitude that is “effortlessly feminine”.

A sense of softness, lightness and even “the syntax of floaty, immaterial style” pervades in a series of soft washed-out colours such as aquamarine, grey, sky blue, “greige”, powder pink and pistachio, which never threatens to boldface their intent. And occasional exclamation marks of acid green and cornflower blue unfurl in overlaps of shaded or pinstriped silk with a paper effect, and ultra-lightweight crushed velvet.

At times this collection feels as subtle as breath. An airy lightness dominates the shapes, which appear to sweep over the body, in fluid duster coats, small jackets, and wraparound deconstructed blazers (an Armani show is never without them), co-ordinated with straight-leg or gathered-at-the-hem trousers. Dresses in vaporous tulle, which in the evening can be lit up by small crystals, sequins and metal strands, turn silvery, almost lunar.

Accessories accentuated the urban tone of the whole, taking discreet style into a real-life context; high-top sneakers in faded denim and flats with luxe appliqués like crystals laid over naked skin. And even the tiny plexiglas bags were worn like jewels. Harmonious and clean, the airy confection bespeaks the wearable lightness of being.