Milan has not been the most endearing of cities this week. Oppressive humidity, delayed starts and poor management of venues have left everyone attending the circuit of fashion shows feeling distinctly ill-tempered.
Until yesterday afternoon that is, when Giorgio Armani presented his spring-summer 1998 collection.
Mr Armani likes order. There was no unseemly jostling to gain admission to his headquarters on Via Borgonuovo. Instead, everyone was quietly ushered aside and seated comfortably on a cushion seat. Best of all, there was efficient air conditioning.
And for once, US actress Demi Moore, who seems to have held up almost every other show during the past few days, was absent. The only stars to attend were Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale. Rock band Primal Scream provided the soundtrack, the first public hearing of its forthcoming album, Echo-Dek.
This sounded mellow and laid-back. So too were Giorgio Armani's clothes. For the season ahead, unlike almost every other Italian, he had spurned black. It made a brief, late appearance for a handful of evening pieces, but otherwise blue was the predominant colour. The first section of the show was devoted to day-wear in navy, with trouser suits to the fore.
Armani jackets are renowned for their relaxed, unstructured nature, looking at times almost like cardigans or shirts because their lines are so gentle. Where definition was offered here, the shoulder was firm, but not exaggerated and waists softly delineated by a single button. Trousers throughout were unpleated and loose, often in devore silk to show the wearer's legs. The handful of skirts were relatively short and A-line with a single slit on one side.
Navy gradually gave way to teal and slate tones and vents to dusty taupe and putty, used for organza shirts worn on top of swimsuits with cross-over straps at the back. Slip dresses had the same straps and came in palest grey with a hint of blue, used also for a velvet devore loose trouser suit.
Finally came the succession of lavishly beaded evening dresses, their surfaces coated with crystal and tiny pearls in stylised flower or dragon flies motifs. Similarly decorated jackets were paired with double chiffon pants. Despite the labour involved in their creation each piece managed to look effortlessly lovely. No wonder, therefore, that there was such manifest reluctance after the show for the audience to go back out into the bustle and heat of Milan.