At the age of 90, Giorgio Armani wanted “take the bull by the horns, take a risk to start again”. He did it with his latest collection Alta Moda Privé in which he courageously reinvented himself, playing with the canons of his couture and renewing the image traditionally associated with Armani. Yes, because that “bull” he metaphorically cited is also made up of the stereotypes associated with the Armani style and so he, King George, with great strength and clarity, wanted to silence once and for all the criticisms leveled against him by his detractors, demonstrating to the whole world that, if he wants, he too can change, he can renew himself. And so, while rumors and indiscretions about the future of his company were circulating in recent months, he silently got to work and designed this extraordinary collection: “I was brave, I admit it”, he sincerely confided to the Italian press, a few hours before showing at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. “I did everything on my own, without showing the work to anyone except the last one. Each garment is a different story and tells a different woman. Some might say that there are things that are not very Armanian and so it is. It’s a challenge I wanted to take on. I started working on it three months ago and I held on gritting my teeth: not even Leo (Dell’Orco, ed.), who is always the first to see it, knew anything about it. I took a risk and didn’t sleep on it a few nights. But it was time to do it. Naturally trying not to overdo it and not lose my way.”
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GIORGIO ARMANI PRIVE’ SS2024 _ 11_ CREDITS SGP
Giorgio Armani’s challenge – which he absolutely won – was to question his own creation, entrusting experimentation to his most exclusive line, Privé, where he has already dared a lot in the past. “More and more customers they look for special pieces, here I have created more than ninety special pieces“, explained the designer, not hiding the fact that it is also his most expensive haute couture collection ever. “The next? Maybe. In the meantime, I’ve laid some foundations,” he commented. Each item, although part of a set of 92 stories, is a unique and sui generis creation but in perfect harmony with what precedes it and what follows it. The beauty of the single garment is amplified by the overall vision: “Every dress is a story, but they are not episodes detached from each other. There is the common thread of authorship between them,” underlines Mr. Armani. The dress thus becomes a means of narrative expression, transforming the catwalk into a sequence of original and creative reinterpretations, unique in their coherence and playful lightness, this also underlined by the choice of the soundtrack with René Aubry’s waltzes.
It is a triumph of embroidery and crystals, colors and sparkles. East meets West in an organic mix of styles and cultures. From embroidered bustiers to lace dresses, from silk trousers that hang softly to long jackets, dressing gowns that resemble kimonos: each piece is designed down to the smallest detail. “I started with simple couture, with a velvet dress with just a black feather. Now I choose for each piece to tell a story, far from the vision of groups of color. I explored all the possibilities of haute couture and arrived at these most particular garments”, explained Armani, recalling the beginning of his adventure in haute couture, in 2005. Wide skirts, mermaid dresses, small corsets and soft dressing gowns recall oriental aesthetics, while the color palette ranges from aquatic tones to pop shades: pale pink corals, jade greens, shaded blues and soft golds alternate with fuchsia, periwinkle purple and black. It embraces scenographic but never forced creative elements, such as the maxi hats in the grand finale. The result is a collection that mixes fluidity and liquidity in the fabrics, sparkling lace, sculptural shapes and a play of vibrant colours. Armani also dares with make-up and hairstyles, introducing Pacific blue eyeliner and having the models parade with thin braids adorned with colorful Avata-style beadsr. It is a meeting between worlds, a journey between cultures that is reflected in the refined details and the uniqueness of each look. “I wanted to attract attentiondistract the world from all these bad things that happen,” says Armani.
The final result? A unanimous standing ovation from the audience of 600 people, including stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Glenn Close, Olga Kurylenko, Juliette Binoche and former soccer star Ronaldo. He came out on the catwalk with his usual shyness, but without hiding his emotion: it’s a triumph. But also the right reward for a man who, even at 89 years old, does not hesitate to get involved, proving to everyone once again that it is no coincidence that they call him King George. Chapeau.