With his usual Sunday slot falling on the last day of Milan fashion week, Giorgio Armani always has the last word after a week of shows. As the collections played out against a particularly tumultuous political backdrop this season, his parting sentiment seemed more significant than ever.

“I wanted to imagine new harmony because I believe that is what we all need,” said the 90-year-old designer on Sunday afternoon.

Armani famously does not do provocation. While many other designers are pressured to cut through the noise of a saturated and struggling luxury industry with shock tactics, Armani remains one of the most successful purveyors of a consistent style serenity. It might account for the fact that after five decades building the Armani group into a global powerhouse and amassing a fortune estimated by Forbes at $13bn (£10bn), Armani seems to still really enjoy his day job.

“For me, each collection stems from the desire to explore new perspectives and offer fresh interpretations of a style with clear, well-defined contours,” he said. This season he “reflected on roots, envisioning clothes that take on the colours of the earth, minerals and sun-scorched landscapes”.

It materialised in signature silk trouser suits in Armani’s sand-and-stone palette known as “greige” and bead-embroidered waistcoats, blazers, and bustiers that looked like a cracked-open blue quartz crystal – incidentally famed for its calming properties.

A Giorgio Armani show can always be relied upon for its red-carpet segment at the end adored by Hollywood power players including Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis and Nicole Kidman. This season it was especially weightless and ethereal with wafer-thin silk gowns appliqued all over with micro sequins, delivering a dreamlike antidote to the weight of reality.

On Saturday, the Dolce & Gabbana show eschewed its usual glitz with a utilitarian collection called Cool Girls. Inspired by “girls on the street”, the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana opened the doors to their central Milan HQ and instructed their 78 models to walk off the catwalk and on to the street to pose on a scaffolded platform for the waiting crowds.

This collection, they said, was less about one item and more focused on real life and self-styling. The reality check did not make this any less glam than expected from the brand that celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Its signature jewel-embellished denim, leopard-print coats, and satin corsetry were all on display.

Last summer, its chief executive, Alfonso Dolce, said the brand’s revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year was up 17% to €1.871bn alongside plans to open 12 new stores in the US.