text: MILAN (AP) — Giorgio Armani was left holding the proverbial bag on the last day of Milan Fashion Week on Monday. 
   
   A model wears a creation for Giorgio Armani women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Giuseppe Aresu) (Associated Press) 
   
   A model wears a creation for Giorgio Armani women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Giuseppe Aresu) (Associated Press) 
   
   A model wears a creation for Giorgio Armani women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Giuseppe Aresu) (Associated Press) 
   
   A model wears a creation for DSquared2 women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) (Associated Press) 
   
   Models wear creations for DSquared2 women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) (Associated Press) 
   
   A model wears a creation for Giorgio Armani women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Giuseppe Aresu) (Associated Press) 
   
   A model wears a creation for Giorgio Armani women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Giuseppe Aresu) (Associated Press) 
   
   Models wear creations for DSquared2 women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) (Associated Press) 
   
   A model wears a creation for DSquared2 women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) (Associated Press) 
   
   A model wears a creation for DSquared2 women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) (Associated Press) 
   
   Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause at the end of his Giorgio Armani women's Fall-Winter 2014-15 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, unveiled in Milan, Italy, Monday,... (Associated Press) 
   
   American Vogue's influential editor-in-chief Anna Wintour skipped the preview of Armani's signature line to rush off to Paris for the next round of preview shows — not for the first time. 
   
   "She has weight and power, but maybe even I have weight,' ' Armani lamented. 
   
   Armani has anchored the Milan calendar for two decades, and in recent years there have been no other designers of his stature on the last day. He told reporters backstage after his preview show that the calendar needs to be altered to maintain high-profile designers until the end. 
   
   Armani said he has been assured that other Vogue editors attend the shows on her behalf, but he said that wasn't the same. "It's not professional," he said. 
   
   WHAT WINTOUR MISSED 
   
   Armani illuminated grays with lime, and treated the flannel until it resembles tulle, ready for the evening. 
   
   Armani focuses on small innovations in styling and tailoring, not on making a runway splash. Backstage after his preview show, he criticized the excess on some Milan runways as a distraction from fashion that ultimately disappoints shoppers next season. 
   
   When they show up in an Armani shop, they will find ankle-length trousers softened with pleats, and rounded jackets. 
   
   Gray suits pair the new trouser with single-button jackets that are brightened with one lime flash on the lapel. Green stripes down the side of pants signaled a sportier look. The powdery gray of the day looks gave way to a luminous gray for evening wear, strapless sheaths with lime stones or stripes of green and black for a modernist edge. 
   
   Armani is one of the few designers to elicit applause during his show, and one piece that drew it here was a wispy gray fur that appeared lit by lime. It was worn over a slip-like sage dress and paired with a squared green clutch. 
   
   CRAZY AGAIN 
   
   DSquared2 revisit the insane asylum, setting their show against the backdrop of a psychiatric ward with caged holding areas. 
   
   The show opened with a pair of mod psych nurses in white mini dresses and 1960s airline stewardess-style caps escorting a starlet in a fur down the runway. 
   
   "The story is about a woman who is a Hollywood diva, and then she had a breakdown and she is going to go into this recovery home," co-designer Dean Caten said backstage. "She still has her jewels, and she is living her fancy life, her glamorous life, her disturbed wonderful life." 
   
   Dean and Dan Caten, the Canadian twins behind the brand, put locks and keys on bags, collars and ankle straps. Heels were tied on with rubber syringe bands for mood more than function. The collection is elaborate and rich, with lots of beading, fur, silk and wool; the main silhouette was a mini dress. 
   
   Toward the end, a few inmates escape in silken nighties, stricken looks on their faces as they make their way past the riser full of flashing photographers. ||||| MILAN — Giorgio Armani was feeling feisty on Monday, taking on some of his favorite targets at his postshow press conference: Anna Wintour, other Italian designers and the Camera della Moda. 
   
   
   
   His combative mood appeared to be triggered by the noticeable absence of Vogue’s editor in chief from his front row earlier in the morning. 
   
   
   
   “There are some who prefer to snub the Giorgio Armani show and go to Paris,” he said. Although the designer didn’t name names, there was little mystery as to whom he was referring. 
   
   
   
   “She took an airplane, dumped Mr. Armani and went to Paris,” continued Armani, who, in the past, has strongly criticized Wintour, accusing her of attempting to truncate Milan Fashion Week’s schedule and forcing designers to change their show dates. 
   
   
   
   RELATED STORY: Giorgio Armani RTW Fall 2014 >> 
   
   
   
   According to Armani, Wintour’s absence was due to the fact that he is the only major designer to show on the last day of Milan Fashion Week. 
   
   
   
   “Anna has the greatest respect for Giorgio Armani and everything he has done for Italy and fashion worldwide,” Vogue communications director Hildy Kuryk told WWD later in the afternoon. “Unfortunately, with the fashion calendar now running for more than a month, there are some shows that Anna is not able to attend.” 
   
   
   
   “When we decided to show the last day, other big brands were involved. But currently this is an empty day,” Armani said, accusing the Italian Fashion Chamber of inefficiency. “Does this mean protecting the Italian fashion? Where is the Camera? I rejoined it but I can always exit again. I can just put in a phone call….” 
   
   
   
   Armani couldn’t rein in his anger, nor his disappointment. “Why should I always be the moron [translating from an Italian expletive] to be penalized because of a person, who, for better or for worse, like or dislike it, is powerful? I feel penalized,” he noted. “She said she was sending her people. But if you go to see your dentist and he puts you in the hands of his assistant, what’s your reaction? They told me ‘She went to see the Privé in Paris; she has no time to see the ready-to-wear in Milan.’ She is influential and powerful. But, perhaps, I’m influential as well.” 
   
   
   
   A possible solution to keep power people in Milan for the duration of the shows could be to “take turns in showing on the last day,” Armani suggested. 
   
   
   
   “This is not an option,” retorted Camera della Moda president Mario Boselli, reached by phone later in the day. “But we met Mr. Armani earlier and he is totally fine now. In a certain way, it’s right that the important journalists stay until the end of the week, and next season, we will try to guarantee the presence of other big brands the last day.” 
   
   
   
   Armani set the tone for the press conference from the moment he sat down, needling the competition with Italian journalists: “I wanted to bring an owl with me this morning,” a reference to Dolce & Gabbana’s collection, which featured looks decorated with nocturnal birds of prey. 
   
   
   
   Armani spared no words in criticizing other Italian brands’ approach to fashion. “I think that the exaltation of the idea that designers can be just completely free to express their fantasy is really dangerous,” he said. “I’m very happy that others do what they do. I respect my colleagues. I’m happy with what I do, but I feel like a black swan in doing clothes with a function and with an attention to the commercial aspect. 
   
   
   
   “It’s very easy to do a V-neck dress with a bold print. It’s more difficult to make a suit or a jacket look new. It’s easier to freewheel,” he continued, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to this season’s Prada collection. 
   
   
   
   According to Armani, focusing on pure creativity and setting aside the business vision, Italy’s fashion companies cannot insist on receiving concrete help by the nation’s government institutions. 
   
   
   
   “Nobody is courageous enough to say that if the fashion industry wants to be supported by the Italian government, we have to offer a product which is not only smoke and mirrors but that has a functionality and can bring economic results,” he said. “Otherwise, fashion loses its credibility. 
   
   
   
   “We should talk about economy, competition. Others are copying us,” Armani pointed out, mentioning the case of “a store on Via Montenapoleone, which sells the same clothes I did 10 years ago.” The designer confirmed to journalists at the press conference that he was referring to Giada, a Chinese-backed Italian fashion label. ||||| Giorgio Armani takes aim at Anna Wintour 
   
   Mr Armani is not happy that Vogue editor Anna Wintour missed his latest show, and he wants everyone to know about it 
   
   BY Bibby Sowray | 25 February 2014 
   
   Photo: Rex 
   
   Anna Wintour was notable by her absence at yesterday's Giorgio Armani autumn/winter 2014 show, and Mr Armani was particularly annoyed. 
   
   Speaking at a post-show press conference, Armani said: "There are some who prefer to snub the Giorgio Armani show and go to Paris… She took an airplane, dumped Mr. Armani and went to Paris." 
   
   Armani's issues stem from the fact that he is the only major designer to show on the final day of Milan Fashion Week, meaning many members of the press have already moved on to the French capital in preparation for Paris Fashion Week, which runs for a further nine days, starting today. 
   
   READ: Giorgio Armani: I've sacrificed life for fashion 
   
   Wintour's representative at Condé Nast denied Armani's inference, telling WWD : "Anna has the greatest respect for Giorgio Armani and everything he has done for Italy and fashion worldwide. Unfortunately, with the fashion calendar now running for more than a month, there are some shows that Anna is not able to attend." 
   
   Armani went on to blame Milan Fashion Week's organisers, the National Chamber for Italian Fashion, of which he is a board member, for making the final day on the schedule an "empty" one. The criticism comes just months after Armani pledged to help relaunch the waning international fashion showcase, which has only Armani, Gucci, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana as its big draws. 
   
   He didn't stop there though, going on to make a veiled stab at fellow Italian brands that ignore "clothes with a function and with an attention to the commercial aspect" in favour of being "completely free to express their fantasy", calling the approach "really dangerous". 
   
   "It's very easy to do a V-neck dress with a bold print. It's more difficult to make a suit or a jacket look new. It's easier to freewheel," he said, making what was assumed to be a reference to Prada.
target: – Rowr: After Anna Wintour failed to show up at Giorgio Armani's autumn/winter 2014 fashion show yesterday in Milan, Armani did not hide his displeasure. "There are some who prefer to snub the Giorgio Armani show and go to Paris," he said at a press conference after the show, apparently referring to the Vogue editor. "She took an airplane, dumped Mr. Armani and went to Paris." The problem? Armani is the only big designer whose show was on the last day of Milan Fashion Week, so much of the press had already left for Paris Fashion Week, which starts today, the Telegraph reports. It's not the first time Wintour has skipped the Armani preview for that reason, the AP notes. According to the Irish Independent, Armani (whose tirade also included digs at the Milan Fashion Week organizers and other Italian designers) went on to say—while not naming Wintour—"Why should I always be the [moron] to be penalized because of a person, who, for better or for worse, like or dislike it, is powerful? I feel penalized. She said she was sending her people. But if you go to see your dentist and he puts you in the hands of his assistant, what’s your reaction? They told me, 'She went to see the Privé in Paris; she has no time to see the ready-to-wear in Milan.' She is influential and powerful. But, perhaps, I’m influential as well." As for Wintour, her rep tells Women's Wear Daily, "Anna has the greatest respect for Giorgio Armani and everything he has done for Italy and fashion worldwide. Unfortunately, with the fashion calendar now running for more than a month, there are some shows that Anna is not able to attend."