Emporio Armani RTW Spring 2022

Aitor Rosás Suné/WWD

With the Armani teatro, half empty due to socially distanced seating, this show felt like a cool insider event — a rehearsal even — compared with the usual overcrowding, pre-show gossip and precise, 30-minute delay before the first models appear.

It was the first physical runway show for Emporio Armani since February 2020, when COVID-19 first took hold in Italy, and the collection marked the brand’s 40th anniversary, but there was no fanfare or ready-to-party feel.

Instead, the mood at this unisex show was subdued and intimate — while the collection 100 percent, full-bodied Armani.

There were the sort of pieces that longtime fans of the designer yearn for — the crinkly or textured blazers, the strong-shoulder jackets, the fluid trousers (he even made cargo pants appealing) — and the glorious rainbow of greige and desert tones.

Cocktail dresses, meanwhile, were short, strappy and fluttery, easy to wear and in sweetly sexy shades of lavender, mint and azure.

The colors got deeper — and bolder — as the minutes passed (these shows are still too long, with more than 100 exits) with a palette of primary colors daubed across long and slim collarless jackets, shirts and roomy, pajama-style trousers, all with a South Asian vibe.

The little skirts and belly-flashing tops that closed the show — both covered in glistening, colored spangles — were a nod to the flappers and, perhaps, to better times ahead.

Mr. Armani is certainly looking to the future with confidence — this was the first Emporio show where he took a joint bow with fellow designers Leo Dell’Orco, his longtime men’s wear collaborator and friend, and his niece Silvana Armani, who lends her talented hands to the women’s collections.