Emporio Armani Spring 2024 Menswear Collection

Giorgio Armani presented his first ever collection one year before the 21st edition of the Summer Olympics in Montreal, back in 1976. This evening, under his Emporio line, Armani presented a collection that augured the 33rd edition of the Games in Paris next year. A dozen Italian Olympic athletes, half of them Paralympians, traversed the Teatro Armani runway at the close to reveal a capsule version of the national kit to be worn next July and August. The applause, even if from a partisan crowd, was thunderous.

The red, white and green tricolors those athletes waved so proudly provided the brightest flashes of color in a show dominated by tonal shades and a deep and inky black. The collection’s motif was a ginkgo leaf, and many of the pieces were inspired by the ecosystem of traditional Asian dress. The leaf was embroidered as cut out into one-and-a-half breasted peak lapel suits teamed with wide flowing trousers, or across latticed, trellis-effect tops. It flourished in matte jacquard across interesting shirt/biker hybrids, and gleamed on soft-shouldered and loose golden tunic shirts.

A section of tonal knit hoodies over draped drawstring pants in beige prefaced a technical segment featuring sheer greige separates in silky but robust materials worn over lug-toed sneakers. Harnesses held hats worn high on the back. The ginkgo returned on hoodies to signal a transition back to Emporio proper and a closing series of dedicated evening looks often built around the horseshoe waistcoat. The fluid, black or white silhouettes shifted and flowed between Asian and European originating source codes: faster, higher, stronger—together.