Giorgio Armani Spring 2009

"This collection confirms a style that has changed the face of fashion," the program notes stated. That's not too bold of a claim when it comes from a designer like Giorgio Armani, the man who rethought the modern suit, then put his own sparklingly sinuous stamp on red-carpet wear. His Spring collection had both of those signatures in spades.

The show opened with elongated one-button jackets in traditional suiting fabrics. The ones that followed had a similar slight flare below the waist or a ruffle of pleats at the back, but they were made in fluid jerseys and shown with pleated and tapered silk pants, long shorts, or tucked-hem skirts. The wet-look hair and glistening makeup that was perhaps conceived to reinforce the show's breezy "Joy to Wear" message was too much of a good thing, but it was refreshing to see some big-name models on Armani's runway.

And speaking of big names, how fitting that Cate Blanchett was in the audience today: Armani has no better emissary for the sort of body-skimming beaded stunners in which he specializes. He sent out one-shoulder cocktail dresses and wispy chiffons in soft pastels, but they were just an opening act for his finale: a parade of beaded and embroidered long dresses that glimmered without veering into glitz. Had the timing been different, Jessica Stam's strapless number would certainly have surfaced on the red carpet.