The rigor in winter. Pragmatic and free: it is the game of opposites

The Emporio Armani fashion show for the autumn/winter 2024/25 women’s collection ends with a snowfall that smacks of elegance, rhinestones and poetry: it is one of the (few) “concessions to the show” that the designer grants himself/herself to us, because for the rest the woman is pragmatic, free and essential. “Consistent with what I believe in, true to myself: everything you saw on the catwalk is very wearable and at any age”, explains Mr. Armani at the end of a show that smacks of rigor and delicacy at the same time. Where the silhouette is enveloping and the shoulders are highlighted. The palette is cold and vibrant: black dominates and plays with textures (shiny ciré, washed wool, textured jacquards) and blends with shades of mauve, ultraviolet and jade green that illuminate the night.

good morning, night!

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The Emporio fashion show, on the second day of Milan Fashion Week, is a tribute to the starry sky, the one that makes you dream, unattainable and mysterious, a perfect frame “as in certain paintings by painters of the past”, to a fashion that is instead concrete, easy to wear, comfortable (even in the accessories: the bags are large, roomy), although always precious. So the woman plays with patterns, maxi flowers and transparencies. She wears very elegant clothes with the same lightness, loose trousers that close at the bottom under short jackets and vests. The suit and the nail. “And despite loving men’s coats, she is a woman. How I like it that she is her”, closes Armani.

great classics

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Opposites complement each other. Masculine and feminine coexist in Alberta Ferretti’s wardrobe, like lace and flannel, the slip and tailoring. The use of male tailoring persists everywhere, in the lines and fabrics, but femininity returns as the protagonist. Although, in many cases, rigorous in form. Gabrielle Colette (and her passionate prose) who inspires Max Mara often dressed as a man: her alter ego, Chèri, wears great classics, impeccable officer’s coats, pea coats and the inevitable Max Mara jackets. But she is always free and beautiful: “For who? For myself obviously”, said the French writer. And like her, the women of today and next winter: strong, committed, free. Modern and sober.

nude look

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Those by Alessandro Dall’Acqua destroy the idea of ​​bon ton and old clichés, to rewrite the rules with an anarchic spirit that superimposes the tulle skirt with sequins on the wool sweater worked with the Norwegian technique (the mountain one, so to speak ) in only an apparent contrast. In an 80s Haute Couture atmosphere, N ° 21 dresses a woman who is not afraid of anything, not even of showing herself in her nude chiffon dresses or in pleated skirts that move like kilts open on the sides. Which give way to practical suits in bouclé wool, because a woman has always been many things at once. The style, however, is still so essential that it is almost severe. But very beautiful.

like a flower

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“The volume not to cover it, but to protect it”. Daniele Calcaterra and his continuous search for Matter design next winter to perfection. Starting with the coat that steals the show with large volumes and impalpable structures. The colors are those of the forest, the precious materials such as shetland, silk, technical ones. The woman, with character and delicacy that enchants. Like the flowers that run through the collection, the pure lily and the peony.

history

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50 years is worth celebrating. And also relive them. The Iceberg fashion show is a dive into the archive (the Scottie crests on the soft tartan knit cardigans are a direct tribute to the brand’s heritage) to build the future. Everyday style has always been important in these parts. The colored leather trench coat conquers, the double-breasted herringbone blazer with faux sheepskin sleeves attached with holsters is a candidate for iconic garment 2024. The Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons fashion show is also an instinctive attraction for history, a sort of self-citation where the skirts, the heavy wool suits, the velvet hats, the satin shoes, the bows return. These are not easy times, pragmatism is needed. And a little poetry.