Emporio Armani offers a youthful winter wardrobe

MILAN (AP) — The Emporio Armani menswear collection for next winter is upbeat. More than for the young, the second line collection is in itself young.

The boyish models looked happy and relaxed as they sauntered down the runway in a beige caban, or a velvet dinner jacket over a pair of the latest Armani pants, slim-fitting and cropped at the ankle.

The winter style is "very, very Armani," the designer told reporters after the show held in his modern downtown Milan headquarters.

The collection's trump card is selecting iconic styles from the male wardrobe — an overcoat, a pea jacket, or a tuxedo — and refashioning them in the latest high-tech materials.

Volume and stiffness is achieved by mixing different fabrics on a rubber neoprene frame, or by coating bulky yarns. Leather, too, is coated and cut by laser. Elegance for an eveningwear pullover is created by knitting together yarn and fur.

The Armani winter color palette sticks to urban shades of blue and asphalt, with flashes of yellow, orange, emerald green and purple.

The hit accessory of the season is sure to be the furry backpack, just as great for the urban biker or skateboarder as for the global explorer.