“Milan Fashion Week: Armani's blue calm”

Posted: 28 Sep 2010 01:42 PM PDT

September 28, 2010 | 1:30 pm

Closing out Milan Fashion Week, Giorgio Armani's spring collection titled "La Femme Bleue" was an oasis of calm after the multicolor storm on the runways here.

Inspired by the traditional indigo robes of the nomadic Tuareg people of Saharan North Africa, the collection explored the power of nuance through a single color -- blue -- albeit in a dozen different shades.

The result was a reminder of what makes Armani such a giant. It was everything that women expect from him and more -- restraint, elegance and discipline -- an uncomplicated but uncompromisingly luxurious approach to dressing rooted in meticulous details.

He did nod to the season's longer lengths. Fitted, ankle-skimming skirts and tapered trousers were the foundations for the layered look. On top, the focus was on magnificent jackets. One came cropped and fitted, woven from glossy satin strips; another was a snug bandleader style with covered buttons; and a third, fitted through the waist, came in a matte silk.

Pants were just as interesting -- simply pleated and tapered; subtly draped at the top like jodhpurs, or transparent. Organza leggings, perhaps?

There was also a playfulness in the way Armani put things together on the runway -- a tunic top hanging below a cropped jacket over slim pants, for example, and a matte-colored miniskirt worn with a twist-front, sheer sleeveless top and the aforementioned organza leggings.

Gowns were also smashing because they didn't try too hard; they were classically beautiful forever pieces. One had rippling blue satin waves across the bodice, while another was sculpted into a calla lily-like flourish at one shoulder.

When the last models came out -- a man and a woman playing the parts of nomads, with images of rippling sand dunes projected behind them -- it was clear to everyone that this season, Armani had gone the distance.

--Booth Moore in Milan

Armani spring-summer 2011 runway collection photo gallery

Photos: Looks from the Giorgio Armani spring-summer 2011 runway collection shown during Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter

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