Inspired by the “cold and impetuous winter sea,” Emporio Armani’s AW24 outing was a seafarers bourgeois fantasy. In all its greyscale glory, the collection fused the opulence and elegance of a Georgian ball with the ruggedness of a sailor at port-of-call, as the brand’s reimagined procession of elegant sailors, cabin boys, engineers and officers descended upon the catwalk.
Sporting clear-cut silhouettes with broad, pronounced shoulders, the Emporio Armani boys brought a certain sophisticated charm to the nautically-inspired attire. There were brushed wool ankle-length overcoats and oversized greatcoats, billowing leather trousers with sharp, single breasted tweed wool blazers to match and a series of expertly tailored suits that were styled with frothy ruffled Victorian jabots. Dungarees were worn atop wet-weather ready rubberised tops while Breton striped collared shirts, gilets and bibs were styled under boxy cropped jackets with flowy suspended trousers, many of which were worn with militant sailor hats and carrying bags, like hand luggage with massive mesh details and seabags under their arms. Intermixed with womenswear, variations of the men’s collection which came adapted and re-proportioned, gracefully bridging the borders of gendered dressing.
A sudden onslaught of crisp white snowboard and skiwear cut through the otherwise classic collection, one riddled with exceptionally tailored pieces all in navy blue, steel grey, white and midnight black. However, every look that came out was “anchored to the ground by lace-up with high soles”, footwear which, when mixed with gaiters became soft boots, even when they were meant for the slopes rather than the sea.
To close out the show, a number of lux, suits, coats, cardigans and ponchos embroidered with silver metal mimicked the incrustations left by the ocean on the keels of ships, bringing an expensive decorative flavour to something generally associated with the unkempt. It was splendid.
Photography courtesy of Emporio Armani.
