For those disinclined to such activities, there were more energizing options : a blouson that combined croc and quilted satin, for instance, or a buckled, belted leather jacket that would complement a stylish tough guy like Clive Owen, comfortably ensconced in the front row. The mood of louche luxe didn’t discourage Armani from a little proportion play -with diagonally closing jackets and waistcoats, for instance, or with pants tucked into boots (a jarringly militant moment). But his heart will always be in the dream world he has spun out of his visions of an ideal Italy in the 1920s and 1930s. And so he closed out his show with his niece Roberta accompanying the bullfighter Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez, star of the designer’s campaign for his new made-to-measure service, down the catwalk. Armani understands that we need heroes now.
