Pop Bytes: Armani in 2021 is as gorgeous as ever: 40 years of Giorgio Armani

Lifting the veil of doom and gloom that has altered the way Giorgio Armani has presented his collection since 1981, the 40th anniversary of Emporio Armani wasn’t filled with movie stars (usually a staple on the front row of his shows), political heavyweights, jet setting socialites and supermodels but a socially distant affair with a level of studied, honed perfection that only he can provide.  

Locked down at his palatial home on Via Borgonuovo in Milan, Armani digitally presented the Emporio Armani collection to a global audience – streaming it online for audiences in New Delhi to New York, Tokyo to Paris. The entire world of fashion purveyors watched simultaneously the mix of the 1980s disco era and the modern that strutted down the catwalk. A patina of technicolour dreams, as well as his signature navy and all-black ensembles. Flashes and pops of colour with contemporary cuts, exquisite silhouettes, patterns and monochrome.  

Filmed against a backdrop of the brand’s name writ in neon, the collection had all the signature pieces one expects from the legend; luxurious fabrications, glitter, leather, whimsical cuts and classic silhouettes, the pride, the peplum, the pinstripe, he showed it all. Models wearing knits with sequin borders, jacquard, suitings for women and loungewear tailoring for men.

For long loving, enduring fans of the brand, there were new graphic shapes, amplified colours, as well as reassuring crystals and glittering gowns – those most often seen on the red carpet of every award show. Pieces you’ll see again on  Armani’s muses like Cate Blanchette, Julia Roberts and that A-list ilk; there’s a reason why he’s held the crown of “the king of the Hollywood red carpet” (Vanity Fair) since 1978, when he  first dressed Diane Keaton. Movie stars and Armani go hand in velvet-gloved hand so when you see a black and white gown with glittering embellishments, you know Kidman will swan down the stage like he made it just for her.    

No other designer of his vintage – Giorgio Armani turned 87 this past July – stands this tall, relevant and a force to be reckoned with. Trends come and go, tides rise and fall. Style is eternal and Armani is forever. 

P.Ramakrishnan

More at PrestigeOnline.com 

Sandy Ip by Edwin Datoc

Sandy Ip by Edwin Datoc 

Outtakes from a shoot for my feature(s) in Prestige magazine and online. 

Prestige Hong Kong's 40 under 40, 2021 edition

 Prestige Hong Kong's 40 under 40, 2021 edition

TBT: Charlotte Robinson of Caelum Greene

Charlotte Tsuie/Robinson of Caelum Greene. Outtakes from a shoot we did for my column First Person. 

Olivier Yoan photographs. 

You can read the feature up at PrestigeOnline.com here.

Malachite from The New Moon

Malachite from The New Moon; check it out here. 

Malachite - for ultimate detoxification, soul cleanser (goodlluck), releases toxic emotions and inhibitions (didn't know I had any!), alleviates shyness (me? shy?) and supports healthy friendships (oh good). Cleansed regularly. 

The cat liked it a lot. Its so pretty... tried to bite a chunk out of it. Nut.

 

The Party Pics: The veneer at the Press meet: And the scandalous pics inside!

Oh the title is pure clickbait - but the party pics were so much fun.

Check out not one but three galleries at PrestigeOnline.com

The VIPs meet the press here.

Inside the Party here.

The Photo booth Pics here.

Hong Kong's fashion community speaks: The present and the future of an industry in question

 What’s the future of fashion? What’s unique about Hong Kong style? What’s next for your industry? What’s in and what’s out? We pose these questions to the designers, entrepreneurs, leaders, stylists and influencers who’ve made an impact on fashion here.

With Covid focusing attention on our own backyard, this era of style in the city is renegotiating in familiar territory. And from talking to the experts, common arcs emerge. 

You can read the entire feature online here at PrestigeOnline.com

Prestige magazine's annual 40 under 40: 2021 edition is out now!

A return to fine form, the latest iteration of 40 under 40 by Prestige Hong Kong looks fantastic - and its reception has been overwhelming. 

You can read my editor's page - and the entire book here at PrestigeOnline.com

A seed of an idea planted back in 2015 that's grown to become this phenomenon. In its latest iteration, all 40 people were interviewed, photographed, styled and featured. Many surprises unveiled - follow Prestige Hong Kong Instagram for updates - esp the insta' stories! 

My two cents;

When compiling Prestige’s annual 40 Under 40 list of achievers, we followed some basic rules. First, to state the obvious, all the contenders have to be no more than 40 years old. Second, they need to have done something remarkable — and worth writing about — in the past 12 months (since last summer’s edition of 40 Under 40). And third, they have to be here in Hong Kong.

Now that last stipulation can be a bit of a doozy. The pervasive cloud of defeat and ennui during the pandemic got even the best of us. According to one newspaper op-ed: “As emigration from Hong Kong steadily gathers pace, a different picture emerges. This time, they won’t come back. A conservative triangulation of government data suggests that about 1,000 people a day are currently leaving Hong Kong permanently.”

Well, we’re here to present you with a somewhat different picture, a jigsaw comprising 40 different pieces — men and women who are choosing to stay in Hong Kong and construct something different, something better than before.

To start, our editors put forward more than 80 names for consideration, every one of which was mulled over at length…And eventually around half of them were culled. If they didn’t shift the needle forward, extend themselves in a noteworthy manner compared with previous years, then they found their chances evaporating.

Thus, on this year’s listing you’ll find a conspicuous absence of the usual suspects — in fact, 95 percent of the names in the following pages have never been featured before. The novelty lies in not only their faces, but their actions in trying to build a better society, environment or business — and in some cases even reaffirming our hope in humanity.

We found one lady who provided medical mobile units to the government to help the old, infirm and the disenfranchised in remote parts of Hong Kong as the pandemic raged. An heiress who gave up working on her accessories brand and instead committed to philanthropy. Women who left lucrative investment banking careers to deep dive into fixing the education system. And someone who sells luxury condos and flowers by day, but by night provides mental health solutions to those seeking help. You’ll find all these, and more.

So this emphatically isn’t the usual hierarchical roster of the holier-than-thou — for good measure, ahem, we even list our favourite bartender (if ever there was a year to have a stiff drink, this was surely it), plus soothing dulcet singers and exquisite chefs, and a few original designers and dreamy models. But the common thread you’ll find binding together this diverse group is project hope. Standing tall in the face of adversity, these fine young achievers have adopted an admirable stance as they look forward into the light and continue with their endeavours – whatever those may be.