GALLERY Click through Armani's spring collection

Spring 2000 Collections: Sonia Rykiel Balmain Badgley and Mischka ArmaniClements Ribiero Guinness purses Accessories 2000 Jewelry for 2000 Dries Van Noten Gucci Marc Jacobs Michael Kors Ralph Lauren Chanel Missoni Bill Blass   MESSAGE BOARD Spring/summer 2000 Post your comments on the new collections

January 14, 2000
Web posted at: 3:47 p.m. EST (2047 GMT)

MILAN, Italy (CNN) -- Giorgio Armani is breaking with tradition in his spring/summer 2000 collection. The Italian designer says he's using prints, stronger colors, new proportions and different fabrics.

"The year 2000 is sort of a new beginning for me," Armani says. "This time I wanted to take some risks, and when I say that, I mean I studied new ways of creating clothes that are obviously Armani style but with a difference.

"For example, the use of prints. Prints are not something you would associate with me. ... I used the printed fabrics for skirts and pants. And let's say they're worn with a jacket. ... The effect is a sporty one. It's not something that looks romantic -- it's more aggressive. In fact, my idea is one of dressing a woman who's eclectic in her taste, so I mixed everything up."

That means mixing up fabrics too. He still has lightweight cottons, shiny silks, polished linens and slick chiffons, but he pairs them with leather or tie-dyed cashmere.

The colors are deeper in this collection, Armani says, like what you'd see in a Wasily Kandinsky painting. And when it comes to proportions, he says he's going for "more modern, more sexy -- again, less romantic."

"A woman today wants to show her personality," Armani says. "A woman wants to look different from other women."

CNN Style Correspondent Elsa Klensch contributed to this report.

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