The invitation to the Giorgio Armani show, at an art institute in Milan on Sunday evening, requested black tie, and nearly all 600 guests obliged. Waiters passed Champagne in the courtyard, illuminated by light boxes arranged in a grid, and Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Glenn Close, and Cate Blanchett were in the house. The show itself was held around the stone colonnade, and once it started, an hour after arrivals began, 90 models would appear. Many were familiar: Gina Di Bernardo, Mark Vanderloo, and the ethereal Agnese Zogla, an Armani favorite, who closed the show. Zogla, in a midnight-navy beaded gown, walked the circuit of the colonnade alone. It was an elegant gesture that Armani, who died earlier this month , would probably have liked.

But let’s consider the clothes for a moment.

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