Giorgio Armani’s fashion must-have for men next summer: A white bag.
“You cannot NOT have a white bag,” the designer told journalists backstage after his Emporio Armani menswear preview on Monday, the third day of Milan Fashion Week.
Emporio’s white bags for next summer include backpacks and hand luggage, and they are counterpointed with versions in black and black-and-white geometric patterns.
Armani seems to be onto something.
Gucci also featured a large white leather duffel bag — among an array of other colours. And US department store menswear buyer, Kevin Harter of Bloomingdales, says another leather manufacturer this season was pushing white bags, saying “It will sell.”
Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry took in the Emporio Armani show from the front row. Asked on his way in if he wears Armani, Perry responded, “since I could afford to.” Aerosmith plays in Milan in Wednesday night, its only Italy date.
Armani says he has done a wholesale clean-up of looks for his Emporio Armani collection for next spring and summer.
The black-and-white collection has a strong graphic component, with lines radiating, transmitting energy from the garment, as steady pulses, webs and waves into full black and white bold stripes. Colour makes cameos in contrasting stripes of turquoise and aqua-green.
“After years of doing a little bit of everything, a melange, florals and ethnicity, finally a little cleaning,” Armani said.
The silhouette is loose and easy, with pleated trousers or drawstring athletic pants. Silk and cotton shirts loosely cling the frame, and T-shirts, worn under coats, are soft.
There are fewer sports jackets than usual and despite Armani’s advice to Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to wear a tie, the Emporio line, for men with a younger mindset, included no ties, but a few foulards tied snugly around the neck — a trend this season in Milan.
White shoes have graphic lines that distinguish them from traditional shoes and make them more “refined,” the designer said.
