Milan Fashion Week: Armani offered shimmery elegance for spring/summer 2023, using a subdued colour palette with intriguing silhouettes – and ‘a little glitter’ sprinkled by Giorgio Armani

Sep 28 , 2022

Models present creations by Italian designer Giorgio Armani for his label Emporio Armani from the spring/summer 2023 collection during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, on September 22. Photo: EPA-EFE

On September 22, Italian fashion icon Giorgio Armani, 88, presented classy designs for Emporio Armani’s SS23 collection at Milan Fashion Week this year

From pearly white ensembles to subdued blues, greens and greys, models wore translucent pieces that were delicately layered; later, more sultry outfits were trotted out

Milan Fashion Week closed its fifth day on September 25 with mostly womenswear previews that celebrated diversity and renewal, with more designers of colour represented than ever and a host of new talent making their debuts at major fashion houses.

The Italian fashion council was promoting sustainability with the return of the Green Carpet awards on the evening of September 25, recognising progress in practices that reduce waste in the industry and its carbon footprint.

Even while the fashion world was raising awareness about sustainability, this season’s calendar presented unsustainable trajectories between shows, forcing the fashion crowd to travel back and forth, multiple times in one day, in an already gridlocked city. Even biking proved a challenge with few bike lanes on the routes.

Fashion week closed as Italians went to the polls for an unseasonal parliamentary election that could push Italian politics sharply toward the right, something on the minds of many in the fashion world who have advocated for migrant rights and a law that would criminalise hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community, women and the disabled.

Models present creations from the Emporio Armani spring/summer 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, on September 22. Photo: Xinhua

Giorgio Armani voted early, even as he prepared the finishing touches on his runway show and to appear at the Green Carpet Awards. Asked about the elections, he responded: “That it may be a productive day. Stop.”

Italian designer Giorgio Armani offered shimmery elegance for his label Emporio Armani from the spring/summer 2023 collection during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, on September 22. Photo: EPA-EFE

Giorgio Armani’s collection for next spring and summer, presented on September 22, was a study in shimmery elegance.

Pearly white ensembles by Italian designer Giorgio Armani for his label Emporio Armani opened its spring/summer 2023 collection during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, on September 22. Photo: EPA-EFE

The collection opened with pearly whites and transitioned to subdued blues, greens and greys – all coalescing around a notion of spiritual tranquillity.