Nov 17: Giorgio Armani’s accessories capture the languorous Jazz Age–resort feel of his collection—think of the Duchess of Windsor cavorting in Deauville or Cap Ferrat—in a monochrome Lartigue palette of black and white or navy and white, with a dash of scarlet. Armani’s effortlessly relaxed clothes evoke a famous photograph of the designer as a little boy at the seaside with his chic (and clearly influential) mother dressed in languid beach pajamas. Some of the witty accessories take their cue from the surrealistic inventions of Elsa Schiaparelli. (Shocking, the dazzling Schiaparelli show currently at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, promises to extend her influence beyond the Spring 2004 season.) Simple leather purses are embellished with anchors and starfish, while woven ribbon pieces have handles shaped like lobsters and leaping dolphin. Pretty beach bags are matelot-striped—like so many of the clothes—and Bakelite and painted-wood bangles with an Art Deco feel suggest the life preservers on a luxury yacht.
Armani’s new trainers have toes that suggest a Turkish slipper (an idea that surfaced on the runway, too). His evening shoes, meanwhile, with their elegant Lucite wedge heels, are striped in various tones of brilliant Swarovski crystal.
Bureau Report