New menswear director Leo Dell’Orco appears to have ditched the ‘greige’ while embracing the brand’s history
What exactly Giorgio Armani looks like without its eponymous founder at the helm has been the burning question in the fashion industry since the designer’s death in September.
In Milan on Monday afternoon, it got its answer as the designer’s collaborator and right-hand man of four decades, Leo Dell’Orco, made his debut at the Italian fashion house where he will oversee menswear for the foreseeable future. It was the first Armani collection in which the late designer had no involvement.
If Armani under Armani was known for its relaxed, deconstructed suiting and fluid folds in silk, velvet and cashmere, all in his signature shade of “greige”, Dell’Orco kept all but the colour palette, shifting focus away from the famous portmanteau towards jewel-like tones.
Here, the everyday Armani uniform of relaxed velvet coordinates, brushed cashmere shackets and velvet polo shirts came in amethyst, sapphire and lapis blue hues Elsewhere, a 1980s sensibility came to the fore, with leather bomber and aviator-inspired jackets, jacquard knitwear and rakish suiting that was one-part Withnail, one part member of A-ha.
