\n\tThe 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 Priv\u00e9 solo, chose jade for the spring show while asserting her own will and style preferences.<\/p>\n
\n\tHence, 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.<\/p>\n
\n\tSurrounded 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\u2019s uniform.<\/p>\n
\n\tShe cited a wish to make couture \u201ca bit more wearable,\u201d and honor the house\u2019s reputation for daywear, and red-carpet dresses, too, while elaborating on the middle ground with lots of pants-based cocktail looks. <\/p>\n
\n\tOne 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.)<\/p>\n
\n\tSilvana 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 \u2014 \u201cI was terrible at that,\u201d she confessed \u2014 but mostly in the design studio on women\u2019s collections, first on Emporio Armani, then the main collection and now also Priv\u00e9 couture, which he introduced in 2005.<\/p>\n
\n\tDoes she think Mr. Armani would make any changes to her debut Priv\u00e9 show, which she conceived completely independently? \u201cNo, but I\u2019m sure he would add something,\u201d she shot back with a knowing smile.<\/p>\n
\n\tShe 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.<\/p>\n