Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: pay your own tribute to Armani by perfecting his signature relaxed style

Paying your respects is always the right thing to do. This autumn it is also the chicest. At Milan fashion week in September, Giorgio Armani was on everyone’s mind. His fingerprints have been all over that city’s style and psyche for decades, but with the fashion industry gathered in his home town to see the last collection he designed before his death, his spirit was more pervasive than ever.

In other words: the king is dead, long live the slouchy suit. People all over the world have been thinking about Armani, and seeing images of his clothes – on catwalks, on film, on the red carpet – has reminded us how elegant, timeless and universally flattering the soft tailoring he pioneered was, and still is.

If you’re feeling flush, now would be a lovely moment to buy yourself some actual Armani, and I’m confident it is a purchase you won’t regret. But the brilliance of Armani is that his impact on fashion has been so visceral that you can buy the look he invented all over the high street. You don’t have to be able to afford Armani to dress Armani-ish. And the look is perhaps more widely available right now than at any time since the 1980s, not just because of his death but because the style compass has nudged away from skinnies and towards looser trousers and jeans.

The Armani look is about tailoring, but forget stiff suits. Jackets are not pinched or formal, trousers drape and don’t squeeze. The colour palette whispers rather than shouts. These are clothes that don’t need to bark orders because they have a quiet, assured presence. The psychology of tailoring starts with how the clothes feel on your body, and extends into how they make you feel in your head. A stiff suit funnels you into a more staid and solemn version of yourself. This, I guess, is partly why we put kids in school uniform, in the hope that it will curb classroom mayhem. Softer tailoring hits different: you feel poised but not inhibited. You get to be your whole self, not just your nine-to-five self.

Jodie Foster in Armani in 1992. Photograph: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images

A suit doesn’t have to mean a suit. If you only try on coordinated sets, you can end up compromising on either the jacket or the trousers. Instead, think of them as separate purchases, but work within a neutral palette so they fit together. Start with a slouchy blazer. You still want definition at the shoulders, but the armholes should not be too tight or too high, and the fall of the fabric should flow with the lines of your torso, not feel like you are living inside a box. On the high street, Cos is a good place to start: they have a merino wool blazer with sharp lapels and soft waist darts for £169. A good blazer will be as useful over a plain white tee and jeans for daytime, or a slip dress when you’re heading out in the evening, as worn as a suit.

Next, slouchy trousers for instant cool. The key is flow: you want fabric that moves as you walk, without hugging the leg. Not too bulbous, though. I’m wary of the more exaggerated full trousers that are being pushed as the directional look – unappealingly tumescent, to my eye – but I’m a fan of Massimo Dutti’s classy and well-priced £99.95 wool blend darted trousers, that feel luxe but don’t cost The Row money.

Oat. Dove. Navy. Biscuit. These are the colours to home in on. Giorgio was all over the quiet luxury colour palette long before it was so much as a twinkle in the Succession wardrobe department’s eye. On a budget, it is worth bearing in mind that clothes in these colours look more expensive than the same pieces in brights. Uniqlo do great muted colours, and everything works together for tonal layering.

You don’t need a ton of accessories. One or two bits of jewellery is enough. Try not to break up the visual flow by adding a handbag glinting with hardware or charms: something sleek in minimalist leather is your friend. Less fuss is more powerful. Effortless understatement is a timely tribute – and, more importantly, a great look.

Model: Kentha at Milk. Hair and makeup: Sophie Higginson using Refy Beauty. Top, £26, Ninety Percent. Suit jacket, £380, and trousers, £220, both Marella. Kitten heels, £35.99, Zara. Earrings, £250, Monica Vinader