Can’t wait to dress up but also don’t want to abandon your loungewear? Giorgio Armani has the solution
We’re at a time now where the anniversary of so many pandemic ‘firsts’ is being marked. In the fashion world, Giorgio Armani’s show at Milan Fashion Week on Saturday brought back memories of last February’s event being cancelled at the last-minute and held behind closed doors instead as Covid-19 cases suddenly spiked in Northern Italy, MFW’s glamorous buzz pierced by a new and very real threat.
A year on, few could probably have predicted that the usual circus would still be on furlough, but it does feel apposite that the autumn/ winter shows are taking place with the hope that an end is in sight. While headlines fizz with excitement about a return to normality though, it would be a fool’s game to assume that what we wear will snap back to pre-pandemic ways.
After 12 months of freedom from waistbands that dig in and jackets that cinch and constrict, it feels unlikely we’ll go running for them the moment freedom is declared. Because it wouldn’t really be freedom, would it?
Giorgio Armani has always known this. His womenswear has forever been imbued with a languid softness - even if it’s tailoring, it’s famously draped and relaxed rather than fitted and severe. Mr Armani’s designs are timeless, but as the world eventually eases back into a post-lockdown groove, they may find a renewed relevance.
Saturday’s show was packed with pieces that will straddle the conflicting getting dressed emotions many of us will face in the coming months, eager to feel glitzy again but not ready to part with the ease has soothed us through hibernation.
A silver textured jumper was part disco ball, part snuggly sweatshirt. Harem pants in silk and velvet offered a forgiving yet upscale alternative to tracksuit bottoms. Jackets were as likely to be loose and silky (like bedjackets) as they were to resemble a blazer, and then they were styled to be oversized.
These are not clothes which would berate you for your ‘lockdown 15’ and many - even the most ritzy - were styled with trainers or flat slippers. If parties are back on the cards by the end of the year, Armani is the pyjama convert’s guide to getting ready for them.
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