The late, great Giorgio Armani often based his couture collections on a color, or a motif like pearl or bamboo, and his niece Silvana Armani, now steering Armani Privé solo, chose jade for the spring show while asserting her own will and style preferences.
Hence, there were no little hats, for which Mr. Armani had a sometimes unfortunate weakness; only 60 looks in the show, as opposed to the usual 100 or so, and lots of loose and easy pants because the Italian couture house is known for daywear, and she finds them easy and sensible.
Surrounded by racks of clothes and Italian journalists at a preview, she stood arms crossed in a hooded navy sweater, slim navy slacks and navy and white sneakers, not dissimilar to the founder’s uniform.
She cited a wish to make couture “a bit more wearable,” and honor the house’s reputation for daywear, and red-carpet dresses, too, while elaborating on the middle ground with lots of pants-based cocktail looks.
One of the Italian scribes pointed out that Silvana Armani now stands as the only woman leading a big Paris couture house, now that Maria Grazia Chiuri is no longer at Dior (she makes her debut at Fendi next month), and Virginie Viard has been succeeded by Matthieu Blazy, who showed his first Chanel couture collection on Tuesday. (Sarah Burton, creative director at Givenchy, has yet to turn her hand to a high fashion collection.)
Silvana Armani seemed nonplussed by the observation and gave a little shrug. After all, she worked for her Uncle Giorgio for a total of 45 years, first as a model, then as a receptionist — “I was terrible at that,” she confessed — but mostly in the design studio on women’s collections, first on Emporio Armani, then the main collection and now also Privé couture, which he introduced in 2005.
Does she think Mr. Armani would make any changes to her debut Privé show, which she conceived completely independently? “No, but I’m sure he would add something,” she shot back with a knowing smile.
She opened the show with masculine-inspired tailoring, a cornerstone of the house, adding up to 10 pleats on each side of her palazzo pants in silk cady, and stripping the jackets of any stiffness, and sometimes lapels, the edges glistening with tubular glass beads. Models wore organza shirts and neckties and little round eyeglasses, studying the audience.
There was a similarly casual elan to sparkly, mesh sweaters — haute knitwear is the newest trend this couture week — and midi-length tunics. There was a restraint to the eveningwear in terms of cut, though there was no shortage of allover crystals and sexy bare backs. Jade’s association with China was echoed in the main embroidery motifs: lanterns and bamboo fans.
What the show lacked in narrative, daring and color variety it made up for in wearability, uncomplicated cutting, and a conservative allure that is unmistakably Armani.
The one surprise was the bridal gown, traditionally the last look in a couture show. This one had a veil, and it was designed by Mr. Armani for his fall 2025 couture show but he decided to stick to the color black, the theme of that outing. It was a lovely gesture, and then Silvana Armani took her bow dressed in navy, as composed as her formidable uncle.