Giorgio Armani’s Spring / Summer 2022 collection showed lightness in ways both joyful and enticing. From rhomboid vests to a linen jacket inspired by a certain football sensation, we dissect Armani’s latest menswear collection.
Menswear at Giorgio Armani’s Spring / Summer 2022 was all about going back to basics – in its purest, most unadulterated sense. The show took place on Via Borgonuovo 21 in Milan, the location that’s somewhat an homage to the house’s enduring heritage, being the place where Mr Armani hosted some of his most memorable shows. The layers of self-professed nostalgia didn’t end there. The Japanese garden, hidden in the courtyard, hosts a mural of Armani himself, shirtless, standing amongst some of the most prominent 20th-century style icons: Liza Minelli, Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.
The Japanese garden on Via Borgonuovo could be interpreted as a starting point for the presentation. The faces of the idols of decades past, immortalised in stone, were overseeing how the wardrobe of the 21st century, created by one of their own, unravelled before their eyes. The proclamation of disdain for excess – that appears in the show notes – reads clearly through the nonchalant, sometimes slouchy, suits. Elegance is stripped to its simplest forms here, as highlighted through swaying Bermuda shorts, styled with open waistcoats and patterned shirts. Body exposure has always been one of the core elements of Armani’s artistic expression; the sleeveless jackets that grazed the bodies of the models, some with rhomboid patterns, expressed a longing for summer – Portofino-style.
Lightness and nonchalance are the mots du jour for Armani’s Spring / Summer 2022. The Colour palette, in this case, covers all the bases that a modern man could need. The navy-blue tailleur that opened the show made way for graphic sweaters. Then, an explosion – of fuchsia and royal blue so beloved by the designer – followed, only to be muted by a harmony of beige, grey and steel blue.
Bridging two different worlds in a context of a single défilé is a trick Armani mastered and found a way to use with a level of effortlessness akin to the brush of Gerard Schneider. Spring 2022 saw sophistication and comfort synchronised, as demonstrated by the linen jackets that were inspired by the iconic football manager Enzo Bearzot.
Giorgio Armani
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This story first appeared in Prestige Online – Hong Kong