The death of Giorgio Armani, last September 4, flooded the news throughout Italy with articles and reports on the great designer from Piacenza by birth, but Milanese by adoption. A world of mourning that mourns an artist with unparalleled human and professional qualities. Giorgio Armani leaves Italians orphaned of style, innovation, a sense of work through passion and ability: in a word, merit. Italian Traditions wanted to retrace the traits of man and the legacy he leaves to the world of fashion. Known as King George, at the head of an economic empire that goes beyond the five continents, Armani established himself with his brand starting in 1975, after a long and fruitful work with Nino Cerruti. Ingenuity, respect and a sense of duty constituted the connotative feature of the designer who revolutionized fashion.
This was the case for the jacket, a garment completely deconstructed by the most traditional canons, it conquered overseas markets, becoming a symbol of the ’80s, also through timeless films such as American Gigolo and Batman, and iconic television series such as Miami Vice.Again, still in Hollywood, Armani provides the wardrobe for a stellar cast in The Untouchables, or more recently in Ocean’s Eleven and The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013. His work exuded good taste and style, but also interwoven deep human relationships. Note the friendship with Richard Gere and Martin Scorsese, or with Michelle Pfeiffer and Cate Blanchett.
The latter in competition at the Venice Film Festival with Father Mother Sister Brother, by Jim Jarmush, and muse of the Milanese fashion house for more than ten years, recently protagonist on the red carpet of Venezia 82 with a splendid long dress from the Armani collection. A mermaid dress already used a few years ago, when in 2022 she participated in the SAG Awards. Tightened at the waist and characterized by a wide neckline edged with matching maxi stones, Armani’s creation enhanced the star’s shapes and elegance, reiterating, once again, the sophisticated equation equals natural. In a certain way, an oxymoron that Giorgio Armani made possible, only him.
It is not surprising that Armani was the creator of an elegance for everyone, telling a fashion that was never risky and aggressive, centered on the importance of detail, of the detail that makes the whole, a small reflection of his complex and sensitive personality. And therefore soft lines and a ban on geometries, liberalizing the concept of elegance also in terms of comfort. Thus Richard Gere in American Gigolo, trailblazer of the greige nuance, synonymous with a far-sighted way of thinking at odds with the past, in the wake of what the great designer loved to say:
Armani leaves a legacy that he himself explains: <>. A memory that also rests on that combination of grace and determination that made him unique in the panorama of rampant Milan in the years ’80-’90, when his empire took shape through the different branches of the company: Emporio Armani, Armani privè, the pret a porter, but also hotels, perfumery and cosmetics. A financial asset of 13 billion euros, the division of which to the heirs will be managed by a foundation created for this purpose by Armani himself. Add to this the purchase in recent days of the Capannina in Forte dei Marmi, the famous restaurant founded in 1929 in Versilia, where the designer loved to go to spend his most intimate stays. A life of success, glamor and a lot of charity, never flaunted and acquired in the news for the gratitude of people and entire communities benefited by the magnanimous stylist. In perfect Armani style:“Elegance is not being noticed, but being remembered”.
Foto : Di Jan Schroeder – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8445893