Closing out the second day of Milan Fashion Week Men’s, Emporio Armani indulged in the fantasy of escapism. Taking place on a runway of chalked terracotta tiles as sweeping beige curtains billowed in the background, Giorgio Armani took his man on a world tour, navigating “a genuine interest in other cultures and a passion for different ways of expressing oneself.”

The show notes emphasised the designer’s exploration of travel, drawing on “signs, colours and ideas from African culture, translating them into a lightness and fluidity of form that are unmistakably Armani.” Reinventing shapes and silhouettes which have always been present in the house’s repertoire, scarf-like garments and voluminous trousers arrived in geometric patterns reminiscent of Moroccan mosaics, blending hues of charcoal, burgundy and browns. Crepe and linen built casual suiting, soft jackets and tunics, often paired with woven slippers on foot or straw hats atop models’ heads. Meanwhile, looks from the brand’s EA7 line referenced a different kind of desert dweller, presenting a series of sleek, technical pieces fit to survive the elements.