No Armani on the runway? Stranger things have happened, but not many. For the first time in nearly 50 years, the maestro himself was missing in action – recuperating at home in Milan after an illness. But, according to those who snuck backstage, that didn’t stop him from micro-managing over FaceTime and demanding answers when the show began a few minutes late. The man may be 90, but he’s still setting the pace.
And what a pace it was. Emporio Armani’s SS26 show cracked open the desert floor and let something soulful spill out. It opened with a fast-footed crew of models storming down a terracotta-toned runway in futuristic marathon gear. From there, the mood shifted into something older and richer, welcoming a lush, roving wardrobe that pulled threads from North Africa, Central Asia and all the heat-hazed realms in between.
There were feathered tunics, rattan hats with trailing ponytails, smock tops printed with safari sketches and enough plissé to pleat the Sahara. Woven in were nods to Moroccan mosaics, Berber textiles and tattooed smock stitching. Soft tailoring – Armani’s bread and butter – held its ground in textured linens and cold-dyed cottons while beads, charms, silk embroidery and metal amulets swung from necks like portable relics. Adding to the desert-raider feel, the palette told a sun-baked story: scorched earth, saffron sand and desaturated red, all tinged with the melancholy blues of steppe shadows.
Even from afar, Mr Armani charted a course through culture, craft and the kind of quiet glamour only he can conjure. So while he may have been grounded at home, his imagination was clearly somewhere else – off-road, sun-drenched and utterly unbothered by borders.
Photography courtesy of Emporia Armani.
