Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2018

When you’ve owned your company for over 40 years and have lasted as long as Giorgio Armani has, you must be doing something right. Maintaining longevity in an industry as ever-changing and demanding is fashion requires flexibility, adaptability and guts. Mr. Armani has stayed true to his brand’s roots to this day, which makes analyzing his seasonal collections particularly interesting to say the least. Craftsmanship and quality are hallmarks of Giorgio Armani, the more high-end of his portfolio of brands which includes Emporio Armani and the more youthful Armani Exchange. That was again evident in his lineup for Spring 2018, where a smooth, languid mood inflicted the clothes – a palette of stone, grey, navy and beige permeated throughout in soft shapes. The devil was in the details, particularly the wrinkled seersucker, shimmering silver and subtle stripes. Each look exuded classicism, which sometimes veered toward bland territory, especially given the fact that it was another exceedingly long collection of almost 90 looks. Simple doesn’t have to be dull, and while some of these looks did showcase his strengths, it sometimes got lost in the monotony of repetitive looks that walked down the runway, sometimes side by side. A welcome approach would be to hone in on his vision and edit out the extraneous pieces, which would amplify his already excellent brand message.