MILAN, Feb 22, 2006/ FW/ --- Like her brother, the Emporio Armani is all grown up, ready to tackle the working world though there is still a lot of fun left in her as she is all ready to paint the town red.

It seems that there is now a reversal of roles between the Giorgio Armani lady and the Emporio Armani lady. While the first has turned into a lady of leisure, the latter has become a little more serious that what she usually is.

Perhaps, Giorgio Armani is echoing the changing demographics with this newfound aesthetics for his two lines. After all, the Giorgio Armani label was created when the baby boomers rule the market economy. Now that the first batch of the baby boomers are turning senior citizens and actually thinking of retirement, leisure is what they have in mind.

Hence, there is a passing of the torch to the younger generation; and it is also happening on the catwalk with the Emporio Armani wearing the ‘more sensible’ work clothes.

Beginning with the tailored outer coats, there is a new aura about the Emporio Armani lady, a seriousness that had not been seen before. She now sports relaxed fit outer coats with soft rounded shoulders worn over sheered skirts and skorts, something that you can wear to work.

Male-inspired suit jackets are snug fitting with an added grain; the lapel ‘crumpled’ using a different fabric. It’s Armani’s play on texture while keeping things formal with checks, plaids and solid colors.

The bomber jacket was redone by adding down-fill, this time a play on volume. Speaking of volume, ruffles and jabots were seen, a definite feminine touch.

For the leisure suits, it’s definitely volume galore with the peplum-inspired skirts and skorts. Smocking, sheering and ruffle layers were also seen while keeping the silhouette slim.

The Emporio Armani lady is changing, a dynamo simmering under the leisure-loving surface. Though this is the catwalk, what we see echoes what is happening on the streets.

Emporio Armani

Emporio Armani

Emporio Armani

Emporio Armani