Milan Fashion Week got off to a sexy start with Giorgio Armani showing a feminine collection confirming the maestro of androgynous fashoin is walking a new path. "Women want to be sexy, so I will make them sexy," Armani said after a much-applauded show yesterday in the theatre of his Milan headquarters. The new Armani silhouette is petite and fitted with below-the-knee, hip-caressing skirts in soft fabrics, paired with dainty jackets cut close to the bodice. There wasn't a pair of trousers in the entire collection.

Colours strayed from the earth tones of the Armani palette: There was fuchsia, turquoise, amethyst and garnet mixed with dashes of white, gold and platinum. "The world is changing and so is fashion," the 71-year-old Armani said. But the designer, who traded in jeans and T-shirt for tie and jacket for his after-show curtain calls, has no intention of being left behind.