MILAN (AP) 鈥� created an intimate salon for the fashion crowd to get a close-up view Sunday of the latest Milan from his 50-year-old signature brand, an extravaganza of textures, craftsmanship, and the designer鈥檚 trademark elegance.
Special guests
Actor , ballet dancer Maria Bogdanovich and model Ana Beatriz Barros were among the guests who sat cozily on curving sofas for the back-to-back shows. Armani also invited Italian senator-for-life Liliana Segre, a Holocaust survivor, and figures from Milan's cultural institutions.
鈥楻oots鈥� collection
The opening look encapsulated the sensorial complexity of the fall-winter 2025-26 womenswear collection, titled 鈥淩oots.鈥� A swirl of lush faux fur framed the face, while liquidy silken trousers caught the light, and a leather-trimmed tweed jacket pulled it all together.
Sure-footed flat booties were the footwear of the season鈥攕ome featuring radiant strips of leather, others with gentle folds of velvet.
Harmonizing looks
Each ensemble was a perfect combination of soothing neutrals, harmonizing seemingly contrasting materials. Trousers were either loose and pleated at the front or gathered loosely like jodhpurs, as the designer drew inspiration from the East. Jacket were made from contrasting jacquards or delicate quilting.
Feather-light, sometimes sheer evening wear sparkled with beading occasionally patterned like geodes. Sculpted bodices added a couture element, standing away from the body.
鈥淔or Giorgio Armani, each collection is a return to his roots, reaffirmation of an authentic style that evolves, drawing on itself, while remaining firmly anchored in reality,鈥� the show notes said.
Closing bow
Armani, 90, was escorted by two glittering models as he took his final bow. As has been customary, Armani's was the last major runway show of Milan Fashion Week before the crowd decamped to continue womenswear fashion previews in Paris.
Colleen Barry, The Associated Press
