Late Mens Summer Fashion by Armani

If the rest of the world looks to Italian fashion for inspiration, much of Italy turns to the iconic Giorgio Armani for advice. The Italian has done everything from menswear to food and hospitality, making him one of the most influential designers today. It’s a small wonder that the restaurateur and mobile phone designer is able to create summer styles that are invitingly comfortable yet sharply Italian enough to covet.

White? What White?
Summer is the season when menswear brands all over the globe begin to favor white. It’s white this, white that – white, white, white. Armani’s namesake brand shows you that blanc isn’t your only color option if you want cooler shades for the summer heat.

Going beyond white doesn’t necessarily mean going dark; it simply means taking another color to a light enough shade so that it’s comfortable, but not so light that it loses its own character. For that, Armani made generous use of light sky blue, which works great for everything, from shirts and neck ties to a full summer weight suit. Although white was still used in the collection, other colors like beiges, light browns and dove grays took the spotlight for a cool yet colorful display.

Armani goes one step further and shows how to do a whole outfit in a single color. Use drastically different shades – in this case, a light blue shirt and blazer with a dark blue tie and navy shorts – so that the pieces remain distinct. You get to retain the coordination of the colors but stay firmly out of costume territory – a nasty tendency for monochrome.

Pattern Pastiche
Summer styles, despite all their light fabrics and fun colors, can also get boring; color play can only go so far, after all. When there’s not enough life in your outfits, you could always give them a visual leg up by injecting a pattern somewhere into them.

The Armani summer collection demonstrates this to a great extent by using a wide mix of patterns, some of which you should seriously consider getting yourself. There were basic stripes, contrast stripes and variegated stripes that were seen on the catwalk. Checks, zig-zags, color-dipped and even croc skin patterns made their own appearances as well. With all the patterns used in men’s fashion today, you should be able to find one you like.

Using patterns for key pieces, however, often has the adverse effect of making an outfit seem too casual. If you need a dressier look, you could either go with a smaller patterned piece like a printed necktie, or with a subtler pattern like a smaller and tighter check. Either way, going small is the easiest and safest way to go formal with summer patterns.

The Unbearable Lightness of Layers
Layering sounds like something you do in the fall, when the temperature gets nippy, and not during summer when you try to wear as little as possible. Even the summer heat can relent, though, giving you the opportunity to play around with your outfit and make it more interesting by using layers.

This season, the layers that Armani uses play around with the idea of weight. Instead of the standard fall or winter combination of a light shirt under a heavy jacket or blazer, you could try this new pairing of a heftier shirt under a summer weight layer like a cardigan or light jacket. When worn with a dressy necktie, you get an all-business inner layer that you can mix with a more fun and lighthearted outer level.

Beware that the timing for this kind of outfit can prove tricky. It’s ideally worn on cooler days, or when your schedule permits you to stay mostly within air-conditioned spaces. If you plan to walk around outside a lot, this may not be the most comfortable of outfits.

Summer fashions can be simple, yes, but Giorgio Armani shows that it need neither be repetitive nor unremarkable. A little bit of thinking outside the box and you should be able to come up with your own style that stands out from the rest of the crowd

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