Milan Fashion Week

The fashion world is currently flooded with "hot, young" designers creating quirky collections that seem unwearable, so it's always good to see a classic name such as Giorgio Armani on the catwalk. His Spring/Summer 2008 collection, which was presented yesterday as part of Milan Fashion Week, consists of elegantly tailored womenswear. He is very traditional in both his designs and presentation as the show began with day wear and build up to eveningwear. The daywear relied on a very neutral palette with midi length skirts and shorts. Cinched in waists were emphasised with cropped, tailored jackets. Wrap over jackets and dresses were key as they highlighted the return of a curvy shape.

The middle part of the vast collection worked with a key colour for next season, navy blue. It's a great day to night colour that has been featured in many catwalk shows this season. The daytime silhouette continued with the hemlines being raised slightly. Voluminous shapes were used for the lower half, such as hareem pants, but updated with luxurious materials such as satin and chiffon.

The eveningwear line previewed a lot of dresses that you're sure to spot on the red carpet over the coming year. Chiffon was draped, and intricate beading used to decorate maxi length black dresses. Unusually, Armani styled the dresses with flat black pumps, they were also accessorised with small, beaded sac-clutch bags.

There were also a line of silver evening pieces including a strapless jumpsuit in a metallic leaf print fabric. There was a distinctive '30s flapper feel to these pieces which were teamed with sequin skull caps and large statement jewellery. Nearly all the dresses had plunging necklines revealing the clavicles. The final dress was a beautiful vintage lace dress worn with a long, golden shawl.