Emporio Armani RTW Fall 2014: Masculine Suiting, Shapes and...A Hat
We're all for an androgynous look, and we'll confess, more than once we've actually borrowed our boyfriend's sweater, but Giorgio Armani's Emporio Armani Fall 2014 collection during Milan Fashion Week didn't blend the line between the sexes as much as it piled one on top of another. Designs that were clearly men's styles were reshaped for the feminine silhouette and topped with accessories or elements to make it softer without taking away from the masculinity of it all. Surprisingly, it worked—well, with the exception of that hat.
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Done almost entirely in black, grey and white, the only hints of color are a turquoise blue that threads itself throughout the collection as an accent shade. What keeps the collection from looking too dark or dragging the suits and jackets down into office meeting territory are the variances in materials. Sheer fabrics, furs, textures and the mixing of prints allow each look to seem a little more casual than at first glance. Our favorite piece was the fur coat tinged with bits of turquoise; we could imagine wearing it even in the dead of summer—it gets cold in the office.
Shape played a big part in keeping the designs from looking like the models just went rummaging through the men's collection. Blazers were shortened; pants were cut off at the ankle and had a looser fit that looked intentional rather than too big. Small details like wrapping a blazer and fastening it with feminine baubles, pulled the piece into the waist while looser cuts gave pants and skirts more movement to them.
Okay, talking about accessories—can we please address the Pharrell hat look-alike that is basically eating the models' heads? We understand hats are having a moment, but does anyone really need a ten-gallon topper they can't actually see past? Ridiculous headgear aside, studded brogues, pom-pom fasteners and jewelry mimicking the shape of neckties were actually pretty cool—but we could probably live without the giant ties and collars that looked like a caricature of their more professional counterparts.
Other than some of those accessories, the collection is sort of a hit. It works for both street and office—if you want to go that route—in a way that pulls off masculinity and femininity at once. The color palette is light enough to transition well into fall and though winter; individual pieces are perfect for mixing and matching to create the best layers for the season. Personally, we can't wait to take that fur coat home—but we'll leave the hat for some of the more daring dressers.
