Giorgio Armani dazzles, Dolce&Gabbana get playful in Milan
MILAN: Giorgio Armani may have dazzled Milan fashion week with a series of glittering stellar creations, but Dolce & Gabbana pulled off the most innovative and fun look of the season with wicker bustiers.
The hotly-awaited Armani collection ranged from sleek silk suits in the brand's trademark subtle tones to a series of glittering eveningwear creations.
The first half of the show was dominated by trouser suits in gossamer silk, broken up by a few shorts -- all done in greys, blue-greys or soft turquoises, and worn with a sliver of a hat, perched on the side of the head, beret-style.
The look was sensuous but powerful, with sharply-tailored suits worn with masculine shoes with silver heels. As the show went on, flowing trousers were layered with fabric in an Armani retake on the skirt-over-trousers trend.
It was the evening wear that won Italian fashion king Giorgio Armani rounds of applause from the delighted fashionista audience, as he brought out one after another of glittering dresses and floaty creations with a stellar design.
“The sparkle is accentuated for the evening, with a constellation of stars on a navy blue background,” the brand said in its programme notes.
The key to the collection was light - shimmering on silk or bouncing off crystal adornments or rhinestone-studded heels, to create a multifaceted effect, “as if observed through a kaleidoscope,” the label said.
The spring/summer 2013 designs were unveiled in front of a host of celebrity guests, including tennis star Serena Williams, and the show was followed by an exhibition gathering together the best of its clothes, accessories and jewels.
Dolce & Gabbana wowed the crowds with a fresh, innovative Sicilian-inspired collection starring intricate wicker bustiers, baroque-sculpture shoes and colourful beach prints -- against a set decked out in sand and spikey cacti.