Armani in black and white

After dabbling with what looked suspiciously like excess last season - dazzling colour on the runway and an even more dazzling front-row line-up including George Clooney, Sophia Loren and Kristin Scott Thomas - this season Giorgio Armani showed one of his most restrained collections for some time.

In his impressive custom-built concrete-and-glass theatre on the outskirts of Milan, the 68-year old designer went back to what he does best - luxuriously crafted, low-key glamour.

Sticking to an almost entirely black-and-white palette, Armani sent out his new autumn/winter 2003 collection to the rising strains of Ravel's Bolero. His quirky take on tailoring - shorts with everything, it seems, this season - and intricately beaded and appliquéd evening wear may not make fashion waves with the hard-to-please front-row editors, but that is not to say the most famous name in Italian style has lost his inventive spirit.

Piecing ribbons of fabric into a fluttering patchwork of a jacket, or fluting sculptural fabrics into flippy lampshade-style skirts, the maestro proved that he hasn't lost his touch. Thigh-grazing hemlines, sheer lace and shoulder-baring necklines added a sexy swish to his shawl-swathed evening wear. It will doubtless turn up on the red carpet at the Oscars later this month.

Though the clothes took centre-stage this time, Mr Armani hasn't quite given up on celebrity, enlisting X-Men actress Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as well as supermodels Jacquetta Wheeler and Eva Herzigova to add pep to his presentation.

After the show the guests crowded in to the chic Nobu restaurant at Armani's flagship store to toast the designer with sake and Martini. Armani may have gone back to a more restrained style this season, but he still knows how to have fun.