For Spring/Summer 2012 at Emporio Armani, Giorgio Armani showed a stark collection of blacks and whites with very little else thrown in for relief. This show contrasted with itself: it was old and young, futuristic and present, modern and vintage, Paris and Milan. The first look – a white jacket trimmed in black piping matched with black cigarette trousers with white piping – was quickly reversed in the second look. Each look traded up for something more elaborate the next time around. From the crisp trouser-and-jacket combinations, the black piping gets wrapped around wire to form outlandish hoop designs that bottleneck the silhouettes into strange new shapes. Even for the model’s bland appearance (all of them wore the same blonde cropped wig, Lucite heels, and foppish hats), the clothes still came off as one part daring and sassy and the other part chilly and aloof.

written by GRACE GORDON|photos: courtesy of GoRunway