Giorgio Armani: the Master of Italian fashion
It was July 24, 1975, when Giorgio Armani and Sergio Galeotti founded a fashion house in Milan, with headquarters in the atelier on Corso Venezia. Thus was born one of the most celebrated brands in the world, one of the most beloved and elegant that has ever existed. A brand and a man who changed the face of international fashion.
Born in 1934, Giorgio Armani is one of the world’s most famous designers, synonymous everywhere with charm and elegance – in short, with Haute Couture. With his talent, he upholds the good name of Italian fashion, and every year, show after show, he continually renews his style. He has always been one step ahead of everyone: it’s no coincidence that to all he is… “King Giorgio.”
Of Piacenza origins, as a teenager in 1949 he moved with his family to Milan. Here, after graduating from Leonardo da Vinci High School, he enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine at the State University, but interrupted his studies for military service. However, chance (or rather “his talent”) was about to guide him into the world he was destined for. After completing his military service, he found work as a window dresser at La Rinascente until in 1965 he was hired by Nino Cerruti to redesign the fashion for the Hitman brand, manufacturing products for the Cerruti Brothers Wool Mill. His name appeared directly in the fashion universe for the first time through the leather clothing brand Sicons.
The birth of the Armani brand
In 1974, the Armani by Sicons line was born, which definitively convinced him to create a personal brand. Giorgio Armani’s first collection dates back to 1975, the year the company was founded. In 1978, Armani designed the dress that Diane Keaton wore to the Oscar awards ceremony: just three years after its founding, the brand was already ready to cross the ocean and enter legend. His career in fashion, as well as success, would overwhelm King Giorgio: his extraordinary talent would distinguish itself very soon, and he would become one of the most original and reliable cornerstones in the field of fashion and beyond.
The Forbes ranking
Today, under various labels, the brand produces clothing, accessories, watches, jewelry, eyewear, cosmetics, perfumes, furniture and home accessories. In 2015, Forbes included him in the ranking of the world’s richest men (with an estimated wealth of 7.6 billion dollars). Subsequently, Armani further increased his wealth, reaching 12 billion dollars in December 2020, according to Forbes, becoming the 3rd richest Italian and 14th in the world.
In June 2020, he received the “Fashion Dresses Peace” recognition that African Fashion Gate – World Organization against Discrimination in Fashion, Art and Sport – awards annually at the European Parliament in Brussels, for his vibrant and courageous attention to issues related to environmental protection and respect for the animal world. In an interview from a few years ago, when asked if a “fashionable” person was also “elegant,” he replied:
“Being fashionable and being elegant don’t mean exactly the same thing. What attracts me most in a person, whether a woman or a man, is personality, the character that is generally always reflected in the way they dress. I prefer subtlety to obsession with trends, the search for detail that draws the eye closer and invites observation and better understanding. Elegance, I never tire of repeating, is not about being noticed“.
Honorary degree for Giorgio Armani
Recent news announced that the Catholic University of Milan has decided to award “King Giorgio” an honorary degree in “Global Business Management.” The ceremony will be held on May 11 at the Municipal Theater of Piacenza, the city where Armani was born in 1934 and where he grew up before moving with his family to Milan.
“An entrepreneur who became a protagonist of global business thanks to his extraordinary creative, organizational and strategic capabilities,” are the motivations with which the Faculty attributed the academic recognition to him.
Armani Casa Salone del Mobile 2023
Armani/Casa: in the secret wonders of Palazzo Orsini
During Design Week that invaded Milan from April 18 to 23, the renowned fashion house opened Palazzo Orsini, the legendary company headquarters, to visitors for the first time to present the novelties of the Armani/Casa collection. The seventeenth-century palace at Via Borgonuovo 11 – steps away from Brera – has been the headquarters of Giorgio Armani S.p.A. since 1996.
The maison, known for having a very close relationship with the city of Milan, had already occasionally opened the secret wonders of Palazzo Orsini to the public for FAI’s Spring and Autumn Days and during some events dedicated to the fashion world, such as Apritimoda, or to the city’s history, such as Cortili Aperti. For the occasion, as part of the Fuorisalone program, guests were able to see some exquisitely crafted furniture displayed in the frescoed halls of the piano nobile (where the Giorgio Armani Privé Haute Couture collection atelier is located) while in the “secret garden” of the main courtyard, entirely porticoed and decorated with stucco, the new outdoor collection was displayed.
The Porta Venezia windows
Parallel to this narrative installation, the windows of the Armani/Casa store on Corso Venezia featured some of the season’s proposals, creating a connection to emphasize the intent to communicate directly with the public. An unfiltered opening that is a cornerstone of the always heartfelt and autobiographical way in which Giorgio Armani tells his story and narrates the brand’s projects:
“My work, in fashion as in design, is a constant search for balance that comes from the choice of material and the skill of the hands that work it. Opening the doors of the brand’s historic headquarters to the Salone del Mobile public and revealing the new Armani/Casa collection in such an intimate place is a way to highlight this process. It’s also a way to emphasize the variety of the proposal, which this season focuses on outdoor furniture and the material preciousness of excellently crafted pieces“.
Giorgio Armani Will Dress the Azzurri for Milano Cortina 2026
EA7, the line born in 2004 as the sports declination of Emporio Armani, confirms itself as Official Outfitter of Italia Team. It will dress the athletes of the Italian Olympic and Paralympic delegation from the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Games through the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. A clear message that renews and further strengthens the partnership between Giorgio Armani and Italian sport, born during the London 2012 Games.
EA7 Emporio Armani, as Formal Wear Partner of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, will also handle the creation of formal wear for the staff.
The partnership with the Foundation stems from the passion with which Giorgio Armani has always followed and supported the universe of Olympic and Paralympic disciplines and the values it encompasses, with the idea that fashion and sport can contribute to improving people’s lives.
Giorgio Armani’s bond with the world of winter sports began in 2012 with collaboration with Italian and Swiss ski schools, continued with the ‘Winter Tour’ event format and collaboration with CONI for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games of Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018, Beijing 2022, and the 2023 World Ski Championships. This new appointment confirms the brand’s presence at the most important international competition, involving the world’s best athletes.
Giorgio Armani said:
“Collaborating with the Olympic and Paralympic team for Milano Cortina 2026,”
said Giorgio Armani,
“is a particularly meaningful opportunity for me. It unites my passions, fashion and sport, in the setting of Milan, recognized as an international metropolis, of which I am a proud citizen, which has supported me and which I have always supported. EA7 Emporio Armani is synonymous with technical research and style. Dressing the athletes again will allow me to demonstrate in the field the union of these two components, during such a significant event“.
Published in 24orenews Magazine Maggio 2023
