Milan Fashion Week begins with Armani

MILAN, Italy – Showing Giorgio Armani on the first day of the Milan fashion week is like serving dessert before the main course. After such a treat, is there room for more?\nIn years past, Armani would close the preview collections, summing up the message Italian design was sending out for next season. But recently, the 73-year-old maestro of Italian ready-to-wear has become increasingly his own man, prone to throwing fashion darts at his colleagues, and above all, interested in keeping his multibillion dollar industry in the limelight.\nSo why not get his fashion view in ahead of the pack?\nThe latest Armani look for the Spring-Summer 2008, presented Monday afternoon, points south to Sicily, where the designer has a summer home on the exclusive isle of Panarea. Head scarves, netted shawls, flared skirts and knickerbockers gathered at the knee like a beachcomber’s rolled up pants are underlined by a palette of sandy beige, shrub green and sea blue. Together, they combine to evoke Mediterranean lore.\nThe plunging necklines of Armani’s eveningwear, however, tell a more contemporary tale. Although now a dying breed, many women in Sicily up until a few years ago were still shrouded in black.\nThe new Armani jacket dubbed “petite,” which is closer to a bolero than a spencer, barely covers the demurely flared blouse underneath, and is worn with a softly pleated skirt or the flared knickers. There is not a man-tailored pantsuit – the designer’s trademark – in sight.\nOften enigmatic with his choice of footwear (one season he paired running shoes with evening gowns), Armani next season switches day and night. High heels accompany the beach-inspired daywear, and flat sandals are paired with the ultra-light, richly embroidered gowns. To underline the sea theme of his collection, Armani adorns his wears with fish-shaped brooches and boxy handbags in the shape of a miniature treasure chest.\nAfter home furnishings and hotel design, Armani’s latest venture is a deal with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics for a line of high-end electronic goods. The first item of the new partnership is a credit-card sized cell phone bearing his name, which the designer unveiled at a news conference Monday morning. The multifunction phone will be on sale in Europe in November. Early next year, Armani plans to unveil his version of an LCD television.