How was Armani's first show after Armani? Leo Dell’Orco, now at the helm of the brand, has opted for a sense of continuity
The passing of Giorgio Armani, which occurred just a few months ago, had left fashion in mourning and opened new and unexpected perspectives for the empire created by the legendary designer. His brand, which today remains perhaps the best monument to his life, has been preserved thanks to a foundation and entrusted to the safe hands of the designer's family with the promise, however, to open the capital to minority external investors to guarantee its expansion. Not a renunciation of the brand's independence but an adaptation to the new times of fashion that the designer's passing has sadly marked.
But the most urgent question that reigned in the minds of fashion insiders (the public doesn't actually seem too hungry for novelties or ready for them) was what would become of the brand's creativity now that, after decades, the founder is no more. Armani's language, very codified and precise, is perhaps one of the most recognizable in fashion, but it was inevitable that over years and years it would end up insisting upon itself. And now that the helm is in the hands of a new (but trusted) pilot, has something changed?
The Armani FW26 collection and the power of continuity
The show presented yesterday by the brand in Milan, among the last of fashion week, was, as always, quite monumental: 111 looks, some of them even in groups, which represented almost an inventory of the many (literal) markers of Armani's man. The choice, at least in the vision of Dell’Orco, who handles the menswear side, concerned a sense of continuity: there were the same heavy velvets, the dark and cool color palettes, the soft cuts, the knitwear with a retro flavor. Which does not mean that there were no variations from the classic script.
After what we could call an interlude dedicated to the Neve collection (very important with the upcoming Winter Olympics) some purple looks appeared, shearling jackets and more fitted trousers to the body, a series of ensembles more iridescent than usual even if always very Armani, and above all a shawl-collar cardigan created in collaboration with Alanui, the first time that a collaboration with an external brand appears on the brand's runway.
During the show, then, other cracks in the brand's conventional repertoire appeared in the form of two champagne yellow looks and an almost imperceptible shrinking of the proportions that did not become more tight but were reduced in width. All minimal touches that made it clear that the brand is not looking for upheavals and that, given its strong position in the market and with the clientele, it will continue on the same path it has been on for years.
Is it time for Armani to change?
In a market in turmoil like the one we find ourselves in today, five months after the disappearance of a legendary founder, a creative change of course would obviously be complete madness. And certainly a very strong factor of continuity is the creative direction of Dell’Orco who, while including minimal personal changes, remains the same design director who has been for entire decades behind the brand's collections. But even if a revolution is useless, perhaps a light and reasoned update could make sense.
Already last year the brand had shown it could be cool through the collaborations with Our Legacy and Kith, while in insider circles several archive pieces have been snapped up on second-hand platforms and much worn by young thrifters especially in America. These successes, which are not taken for granted, have suggested that without renouncing its indispensable identity, Armani could put itself back at the center of the conversation as it once was.
If not exactly novelty, a touch more of exuberance, grit and dynamism would certainly not hurt Armani after Armani. The brand's DNA is made of measure, control and discreet charm, qualities that remain irreplaceable. But we can only imagine how fascinating it could be to see that same mastery applied to a season more charged with color, energy and vitality (a bit like we saw from Ralph Lauren this season) that could further amplify the magnetism of the brand while keeping intact that gentlemanly elegance that has made it an absolute point of reference and without ever losing its authority.
