Attending a Giorgio Armani show is not about spotting next season’s trends – it’s about seeing what power looks like.

The shows are held in the company’s teatro in Milan, an architectural ode to elegance and restraint, all monolithic pillars and concrete walls. The catwalk is accessed through 12ft openings cut into the grey stone. As the collection is presented, the audience will occasionally burst into spontaneous applause.

According to notes distributed at Monday’s presentation, Armani’s spring/summer 2016 collection was an exploration of the colour red, making a statement about “a new femininity: it is strong and powerful, without relinquishing the possibility of soft understatement”.

What followed was as experimental as the famously understated designer gets: there were transparent trousers and pinky sunrise stripes that gave clothes an ombré effect, as well as a plethora of pink-toned grey shorts suits and ... Read more »