December 29, 2014 |
As far as icons go, the white suit is probably in the same league as Whitney Houston. If it were to audition for The Legends Panel, it would be greeted with a unanimous yes followed by a “praise Jesus”. Houston likes to praise Jesus – on the panel. In real life it’s harder when you’ve already joined him – if you believe in that sort of thing, which I kind of get the feeling Houston might have. There would be no bickering over the legend status of the white suit, no snide comments, no mention of serpents slithering into the Garden of Yosemite with gifts of watermelon for Eve. As in Adam and Eve, not the rapper Eve. Praise Jesus. Why? Because all the legends have worn one. All of The Legends Panel have the white suit to thank for their legendary status. Where would they be without it? Yes, they would still be ridiculously famous. After all, suits aren’t magic, they don’t have some special feature that auto-tunes your voice or over-dubs it, or whatever it is they do to make people sound like they can sing. Anyway, the suit here is by Giorgio Armani. And isn’t it befitting of a legend? Notice the length of the jacket, the width of the sleeve, how it flares gently towards the cuff. Admire the beautiful buttons on the double-breasted jacket, and how the lapel lays flat. Take note of the trousers, slim throughout the length of the leg with a slight flare towards the end. Notice the sharp crease. A crease, I’ve always felt, adds an elegant touch, and elegant touches are very befitting of legends. Look at John Travolta when he played the king of disco dancing in Saturday Night Fever. Is he not legend? Or should that be, was he not legend, for legend status can be taken away much more easily than it is anointed. And did he not have a sharp crease running down the length of his leg? Anyway, for his cruise collection Mr Armani was inspired by the desert. Which would explain the textured fabrics and the sheer, gauzy layers. The sandy colours set against a pale, icy blue, the colour of what I like to think is a morning sky just before the sun rises over the sand. Personally I’ve always felt that white looks best against a backdrop of golden sand. It’s also very practical in the strong sun. After all, you want a colour that reflects the light not absorbs it. And really, can you think of anything more elegant than riding across a desert on a camel’s back while dressed in a pristine white suit from Giorgio Armani? It’s exactly what a legend would do.
By Natalie Dembinska
