A tribute to Giorgio Armani
The memory of an extraordinary event and a precious conversation, our last interview with the iconic fashion designer
Giorgio Armani’s passing - just a few days before the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Fashion House, with the exhibition at the Pinacoteca di Brera opening its doors to the fashion world for the first time and the sharing his extraordinary Archive - has left a void that goes far beyond the universe he belonged to, fashion. Heads of state, international entrepreneurs, celebrities and fashion models from every era came together around the family and the company, having only words of esteem and sincere admiration for him.
Dubai Italia Experiences Magazine 9A positive and touching wave, perhaps stronger than the pain. And while all communication channels broadcasted his blue actor-like eyes, the impeccable fashion shows, pictures of Richard Gere’s outfits in American Gigolo, we realized once again that Giorgio Armani had freed us from useless embellishments and extravagances, bright colors and glitter, replaced by a timeless and never boring elegance, and always prioritizing the person over fashion.
Giorgio Armani backstage 2002 (ph. Roger Hutchings)Something exceptional for a man who had made work his life, Giorgio Armani had chosen Dubai a long time ago, in 2010, for the opening of the Armani Hotels in Milan and Dubai. In 2020, he returned to Dubai after 11 years to celebrate, with a new stop of the One Night Only - a traveling event that brings the Armani universe to the most important cities in the world - the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Armani hotels in Milan and Dubai, on the occasion of Expo 2020.
Armani fashion show, Dubai“The Expo has always represented a boost to human inventiveness: I witnessed it firsthand in Milan with the inauguration of the Armani/Silos. Now I am in Dubai: Expo again, but this time with the opportunity for me to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my hotels with a special One Night Only. I am happy and proud to be here now: the Middle East is the cradle of a new concept of luxury, synonymous with continuous evolution and experimentation, able to draw from the roots and the magic of a rich and profound culture to give life to a new creative energy,” Giorgio Armani said on the occasion of the event.
The One Night Only Dubai took place at the Armani Hotel Pavilion; the fashion show was followed by a live performance by Chris Martin of Coldplay. The event was conceived with the intention of creating minimal environmental impact, in line with the philosophy of Mr. Armani, who hoped to leave a mark defined by ‘commitment, respect and attention.’ All things that are part of reality rather than fashion. Mr. Armani succeeded, as he did with this lovely June 2020 interview that we are publishing again. Our way of celebrating the person and his universe, even bigger than the designer who made the world fall in love with the ‘Made in Italy’.
40th Anniversary Armani Silos What vocation and what stimuli led Giorgio Armani to become the symbol of Italian design?
I had no idea that I would become a symbol nor did I set it as a goal. What I wanted was to express the changing times through fashion. It was not simply a matter of introducing a new cut or new color trends, but rather of identifying needs and accompanying change and the social evolution that was taking place back then. And this is, I believe, what I’m still doing today.
Who was your muse?
There is a type of woman – brunette, inquisitive, intense, with a deep gaze- which I chose to represent the Armani style throughout the eighties. I believe that she was the woman who inspired me and had some characteristics that reminded me of my mother.
Milano: we would like to describe it now through your favorite places and your deepest passions associated with the city.
I was 14 years old when I saw Milan for the first time. My parents had decided to move there after the war to rebuild their life. Milan represented the future, the many possibilities of change, the hope that such a metropolis, although in bad shape and devastated, could offer. I discovered the city and fell in love with its culture and history, its character. It’s the place where I chose to live and where I invented my job, starting from the Rinascente period, when the word ‘designer’ was hardly heard of. This is the place where the ‘prêt-à-porter’, which has made Italian fashion known all over the world, was born. This is the place where, in January 2021, I will bring high fashion back, focusing all my attention on the initiatives which Milan is always able to offer.
