Armani pairs stern tailoring with vibrant colours for Paris show

Italian designer Giorgio Armani kept faith with his signature stern tailoring for the haute couture collection he unveiled on Tuesday in Paris - but he added a dash of colour.

In keeping with the buttoned-down look of the show, it was held in a former bank building, a stark contrast to the whimsical herb garden recreated for the Chanel show a few hours earlier.

For his Armani Prive haute couture brand, the designer showed trouser suits and dresses that were all about straight lines and boxy shapes - accentuated by the angular hairstyles of the models on the runway.

But the sober, structured lines were leavened by lavish silk fabrics, and vibrant colours; magenta paired with cobalt blue was a recurring theme.

For the tailoring, there was at least one concession to whimsy: an otherwise straitlaced dress that featured a large diaphanous petal that sprung out of the belt and covered the front of the dress all the way up to the model’s face.