GIORGIO ARMANI PRIVÉ Outside the Palais Chaillot, with the Eiffel Tower gleaming in distant relief, the Giorgio Armani Privé show’s location appeared grey and rainy, but inside the Palais you were dazzled by the panels in various colours and shades, quite unusual for Armani. “Nouages” (shades in English), was actually the title for the new Giorgio Armani Privé Spring/Summer 2018. The main inspiration for this Armani haute couture collection was the mixture of air and light that was interpreted in multiple and colourful shades. Orange and blue with touches of beiges nacré and black were combined and blended together to create the idea of summer’s light. Technical fabrics and silks were used alone or together create unexpected waves of light. The tailored jackets—one of Armani’s strong points—are paired with billowy skirts or shorts, that together give create a fluid floating effect. There was not, as might have been expected, a strong or tight silhouette. Instead it was soft and curvaceous, as the jacket’s shoulders, skirts and gowns stunned for their impalpable softness. In fact, as the show’s slogan declared, “Light defines shape and shape creates dreamlike elegance.”
GUO PEI The theme behind Guo Pei’s spectacular Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2018 collection is the Elysium, the mythological ancient Greek paradise. To represent this otherworldly place the designs use magical and imaginative flower forms, not the roses and daisies of everyday life. “Nowadays—as declared by the designer—we use flowers mostly as a decoration, but, in my case, I wanted to use them as a symbol of joy and as an inspiration for life. But what I wanted to convey here is that flowers and plants were those who gave birth and life to the human being.” Reviewing Guo Pei’s collection, you sense the influence of raw nature. A black model with tribal make up, dressed in an extremely intricate and flowered embroidered gold gown, posed as the tree of life, gesturing on the catwalk as if she was the starting point of life. After her followed models wearing blue short dresses with drapes, or white and gold ball gowns embroidered with blossoming flowers. The entire collection was an homage to women that, like a flower, unfold their beauty. Finally, the wedding gown, the final unveiling, had a huge train and mixed tribal details with precious, feminine crystal embroidery that made the model look like she was the Queen of Ice.
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