The best way to relate to an Armani Privé show – if relating to anything during haute couture week isn’t too fanciful a notion – is to imagine you’re an A-lister shopping for your next red carpet dress. Would you find something that suits? A-listers, after all, are Privé’s main focus. Unlike other designers, Armani doesn’t even pretend to do day wear in these collections. It’s all about a drop-dead showstopper.
I say shopping, but few celebrities ever pay for a red carpet outfit. Often, they are paid – six figures to wear a gown; more for jewellery. Even if you lose at the Oscars, the BAFTAs and the Globes etc, you win. Do the red carpet rounds in a given season and you can make as many low-budget indie films as you want next year.