Emporio Armani goes structural & feminine

Something fantastic and diverse is happening to fall-winter fashion. Emporio Armani, the trendy diffusion line that Giorgio Armani designs himself, is out with a collection that takes its inspiration from the Middle East deserts to the Orient and city streets, using materials such as neoprene, velvet, leather and organza in a variety of silhouettes that make it difficult to pin down the whole collection.

Presented a few months ago at Milan Fashion Week, some of the runway pieces there were on preview to media last week at the Hong Kong regional office of the fashion house, including pieces from the couture line Giorgio Armani.

What was interesting is the material that Emporio Armani is using for the first time, according to the brand’s Hong Kong representatives — neoprene, which everybody is familiar with as it’s been around for decades in industrial and household applications, and commonly used in dive suits because it provides excellent insulation against cold.

Neoprene was hijacked by the fashion industry several years ago and suddenly it wasn’t only being worn underwater but on the runways, too! It started appearing in collections by high street brands and fast-fashion labels, in T-shirts for the summer, jackets for spring, or skirts for fall and coats for winter.

And now, Armani has designed a collection that literally blows neoprene out of the water and catapults it onto the catwalk. Emporio Armani’s collection for women, called Kajal, features a print pattern straight out of the Middle East and feminine shapes with sculptural forms and double-breasted coats in new proportions. Rough-cut neoprene is found in long, feminine portfolio skirts, pea coats, long dresses that look like sculptures, and one or two pieces whose form and stitching retain the look of a dive suit.

Emporio Armani uses neoprene in combination with more traditional fabrics, pairing it with velvet (for a long one-shoulder burgundy dress or belted dresses with bubble skirts, for example), or as a separate jacket paired with a dress in soft, flowing organza or mohair pants.

Gauzed mohair, which comes in the most delicious of pastels, makes for soft, oversized sweaters almost looking like fur and paired with Bermuda shorts, neoprene skirts, and silk trousers. 

Lengths go from the knee to the ankle; pants take on relaxed shapes like banana in organza, silk, mohair; sleeves range from kimono in stitched wool to coats that are double-breasted with peal lapels and center pleats.

As for accessories, Emporio Armani mixes bowler hats with Jaipur-style earrings and necklaces featuring appliquéd gems on neoprene.

Bags are also made of neoprene, calf and goat leather, and faux fur, some featuring Middle Eastern print with chain shoulder straps or metallized gold calf leather.

Emporio Armani’s menswear collection, called Urban Tech, puts the iconic pieces of a man’s wardrobe — overcoat, jacket, turtleneck, tuxedo jacket — and recreates them with modern cuts and high-tech materials.

Pants are slim and made with wool-jersey or neoprene worn under oversized knitwear in thick yarn. “Wool, knitted yarns, leather and even velvet are coated and come with raw edges, or feature, on the inside, a thin membrane to make the fabric stiffer and give it substance. See the classic laser-cut black nappa leather, where the orange membrane makes it change colors. The knitwear is innovative and luxurious, and is tailored with lapin and tricot stitching, to be worn under a tuxedo, ” says the fashion house.

Emporio Armani pairs colors such as eternal blue with asphalt gray, light to dark khakis, emerald green and purply blue.

For walking those urban streets, men get classic moccasins with fringe in velvet and leather; boots in soft calf hair. Men’s backpacks come in sheepskin fur or nappa leather mixed with neoprene.

All in all, it is a collection that makes the coming fall-winter season more exciting — a softer look for women with the pastel colors of spring.

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Emporio Armani’s fall-winter collection will be available in Asia, including Manila, in September. In the Philippines, Emporio Armani is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists Inc. with the store located at Greenbelt 4.