Giorgio Armani summed up the five days of menswear preview showings for fall-winter 2004: dressing a man who dares to show tenderness.

Throughout the week designers have been abandoning tough guy looks to explore the gentler side of the male ego, from the sporty wholesome look of the English countryside, to the genteel style of velvet suits, cashmere sweaters and silk evening wear.

"Metrosexual" is the name invented for a man who combines macho with mild, claiming some femininity for the male sex.

"It's a question of esthetics, not gender," said Armani after the show in the theater of his ultramodern headquarters.

Front-row fans on hand to applaud the designer who put Milan style on the international fashion map included Olympic track and field champion Carl Lewis, soccer star Andriy Shevchenko and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics.

Armani, a strong supporter of the organization, opened a photo exhibit of portraits of famous sportsmen during the current fashion week. He plans to turn the exhibit into a book whose proceeds will go toward financing disabled athletes.

"He has been so generous, and his support has had an incredible impact," said the sister of the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Armani's winter collection centers around the new "George" jacket. The shoulder is subtly padded, hinting at power, while the soft lines and sweaterlike fabric give it a feminine feel.

"Above all it is very comfortable," Armani said.

T-shirts under jackets are replaced by refined silk shirts, while trousers are loose-fitting, but never baggy.

Evening wear includes the sweater tuxedo which combines silk and jersey to produce a jacket which is as soft as a cardigan but as formal as a dinner jacket.

The cozy floor-length teddy bear coats in honey beige or coal black are all about Armani esthetics. They look terrific on both him and her.

Wednesday night Armani presented his second line Emporio collection, in a downtown Milan disco.

The show was followed by a roaring party, with flashing lights and blaring music, creating a very different mood from the highbrow feel of the label collection.

But Mr. Armani never does anything by accident and the venue and the party were picked on purpose to underline the energy of the collection aimed at a younger client.

Emporio Armani plays with clothes stereotypes. A jacket is so flimsy it doubles as a sweater. A shirt instead is stiff with marked pockets and buttons to look like a jacket. Most pants even in elegant silk have shiny stripes like those of road workers and garbage collectors who have to be spotted in the dark. Silver running shoes complete the style swapping collection.

The show also launched Armani's new line of Athletic wear with the code name EA 7, for the fashionable fan of working out.

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