Dedicated to Franca Sozzani, the late Italian Vogue Editor in Chief, the Giorgio Armani Privé Fall 2017 Haute Couture collection featured the poetic layering of tulle and the glinting beading, a more vintage side of Sozzani’s distinctive brand of elegance.

The theme for the Armani Privé show for Haute Couture Fall 2017 was Mystery, taking the trademark lightness he has been long associated with and explore it in new ways, most strikingly with color or, more accurately, the absence of it. This was a show with a relatively dark and somber palette of deep black that flashed every now and then with ruby red or hot pink or soft sapphire and deep lilac.

The show opened with a series of suits tailored to an exemplary level—unadorned, with curving peplums—sometimes worn with masculine trousers, other times with lean skirts in watery shades of pink and lavender that had been edged with black patent leather scrolls and furls that echoed those of lace. From there on in there were meditations on the graphic, linear, and sculptural shaping of black close to and away from the bod in a series of evening looks—gentle and easy to strapless sheaths and sweeping gowns lavished with crystal beading and veiling, many with decorative motifs of flowers or the flight paths of birds. The latter was particularly apt for a collection focused on what can happen when you see the possibilities in soaring lightness.

Watch backstage as models prepare for an evening of mystery and dazzle for the Fall Haute Couture show.