This is an unusually vibrant offering from Armani for the holiday 2013 season. The Eccentrico collection was created in conjunction with the fashion exhibition of the same name. "Eccentrico" was a pop-up exhibition debuting for one night only in Milan, Tokyo, Rome and Hong Kong that displayed some of Armani's more memorable designs spanning from 1985 to the present day. From the website, in the designer's own words: "Eccentrico is an installation of exceptional clothes and unique accessories, a journey through the imagination and a study of the capacity for transformation, playing with shapes and materials to explore cultural connections and artistic symbols. It is this aspect – of the unusual – that I wished to highlight, because it represents an exuberant form of creativity that extends the concept of minimalism and rigour linked with my fashion design. And as simplicity of line does not equal simplicity of thought, I have underscored the wealth and freedom of inspiration that form the foundation of my work and that tell a long and unexpected story. My own story, beyond the clichés."
For the holiday makeup collection, the "Eccentrico" spirit was captured in some strange and unexpected colors that, at least to my eye, read more spring/summer than winter. However, they are appropriate given the colors of the items in the exhibition. A bold palette of red, pink and orange was repeated throughout. Compare the lip glosses and nail polishes to the flower brooches and some of the dresses:
(images from chicprofile)
(image from becomingarmaniman.com)
(image from www2.stile.it)
(image from corraini.com)
The colors also drew heavily not just from the pieces in the Eccentrico exhibition but the fall 2012 collection as well.
(image from herblog.com)
(images from style.com)
The star of the holiday makeup collection was the highlighting powder, a combination of pastel shades in shapes reminiscent of jagged mountain peaks.
(image from chicprofile.com)
The reason I didn't purchase it, however, was that I was looking for an exact match in one of the items from the Eccentrico exhibition. This skirt was the closest thing I found, but it's still not identical. While the shapes are sharp and geometric, they're not exactly the same as those found in the palette.
(image from onenightonly.armani.com)
(image from sickbytrend.com)
I am puzzled as to why the palette had a distinct design yet one that didn't quite match up with any of the pieces in the exhibition – it makes me wonder why they bothered giving the palette that geometric design at all. Overall, I think Eccentrico definitely lived up to the name given the strange colors; however, there was nothing worth buying collectible-wise. It would have been nice to see a palette that had a more direct link to the something in the exhibition.
What did you think of the collection and the Eccentrico exhibition?