‘Grand monsieur’: Legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani stayed true to his vision, never wavered

[Music] Thank you very much for being with us. Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91. A giant of the fashion world, his unstructured designs revolutionized the ready toear market. His suits came to symbolize the 1980s in particular. But the appeal of the Ammani brand, founded in 1975, was well, basically top draw before and after that decade. Let’s get some analysis and context on the life and times of a truly unique designer. These uh images showing you just some of the things that he did, but of course there’s so much more uh that bears the Armani name and of course some major celebrities associated with it. Let’s bring in our editor, editor of culture, Eve Jackson here in the studio, Eve. Uh, this very much marking the passing of a true fashion icon. Certainly does. Armani wasn’t just a designer. He was a revolutionary mark. He was born in northern Italy, actually trained as a doctor in medicine in the beginning, but of course, his true calling was fashion. And in 1975, all those years ago, he launched his own label. And what followed was the rise of global fame. His big break, it came in Hollywood. His softly structured suits for the film American Jigalow turned Richard Gear into a style icon and made Armani a household name in the United States. Now, by the 1980s, his powers suits became a signature, of course, in Miami Vice. You’ll remember that. And Armani was crowned the designer of a decade. He didn’t stop at Men’s Wear, did he? He did not stop at Men’s Wear. He certainly didn’t. He redefined actually how celebrities dressed. Um he was the first designer to actively court stars and pioneering what we now call celebrity dressing. He started with Diane Keaton and soon everyone from Kate Blanchett who we see on screen with him there Beyonce and Jodie Foster. They were all wearing Armani. Um by 1990 so many stars wore his gowns for the Oscars that women’s wear daily dubbed the ceremony the Armani Awards. Now he didn’t actually stop at clothes. He expanded into fragrances, interiors, and even luxury hotels. Here he is 10 years ago talking about his career highlights. There have been many moments from the beginning until today. Different moments, some very strong, some less emotional, some more normal, routine. It’s all a part of the system. Maybe my most emotional moment was when I saw my cover on Time magazine. of time. Now, Mark, despite this empire that he built, Armani um remained fiercely independent. One of the few major designers to keep full control of his brand right until the end. He had been unwell for some time. He was forced to drop out of his group’s shows at Milan Milan’s men’s fashion week in June. That was the first time in his career that he actually missed a catwalk event. He leaves behind not just a label but a vision, timeless style, quiet confidence and fashion that enhances rather than overwhelms um people looking on. Now Georgio Armani, he was a master of minimalism. He was a red carpet pioneer and he actually was one of the last legends of fashion’s golden age. Indeed, Eve, thank you very much indeed for giving that uh initial taster of the life and times of Giorgio Armani who’s passed away at the age of 91. Let’s bring in now uh Dana Thomas joining us uh to talk a little bit more about the life and times of Armani, his importance in fashion of course and what it said beyond that. Dana, thanks for being with us. Can I just point out you were author of the book Fashionopoulos. So I’ll set you free to talk about Giorgio Armani uh what he means uh what his legacy might be. Well, I’m I’m lucky to say that I knew George Armani, you know, as well as one could as a journalist. I spent 35 years covering his career. I I profiled him in my first book, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster. And I even got to go to China with him when he took his company to China in 2004 and and we went to Beijing and Shanghai together, which was really quite remarkable. He was an amazing man. He was in in that, you know, as the French say, he was a guru. He he of course had a very singular vision and he stuck to it. He never wavered from it. But more than having been a, you know, a good designer giving us soft clothes and a and an easier chic silhouette to wear that always looked impeccable and and made us seem elegant. He was a very very good businessman. And this was not where, you know, his his strength was when he started out. He founded the company with his life partner who then later died very early in the years of the career. and the life partner Sergio Gayotei was the business side of the company leaving Giorgio to design. So instead of hiring somebody else, he took on the business side too and that’s when he turned it into really an empire. He you know along with having the men’s wear and the women’s wear which we all know and love. He then created uh Armani preo couture. He started designing hotels. He opened Armani Kaza with the home wares. He had Armani Fury. He had the lower price line Emporio Armani. He had the AX jeans line for K, you know, for teenagers and young people and students. So pretty much you could live and wear Armani of one sort or another from about the age of 16 to 91 like he was and you could do your own home. You could vacation and it was it could be a part of your whole life and it could be your philosophy which was what it was with him. I was discussing it with our culture editor Eve Jackson who’s just alongside me here Dana in the studio. Uh that once upon a time I was lucky enough to own an Emporio Armani suit. Uh you’ve just disillusioned me by telling me it’s the cheapest part of the range cuz I thought it was your grand luxury. But what I part what I can say is that it felt like I don’t know wearing in the best possible way wearing pajamas. It felt that comfortable. You never wanted to take it off you. It was absolutely fantastic. What do you think is actually and you looked fantastic in it? Ah, well, I felt fantastic in it. Whether I looked it, that’s another question. I couldn’t even sort of presume to say that I did. But what I’m wondering is what do you think his legacy is? Because it’s it’s one of these things like if you think of vacuum cleaners, you know, the Hoover brand became like the the sort of like reference. If you think of internet searches, Google becomes that. Armani in a sense has transcended to become obviously sort of something that sums up a whole range of things. Well, I mean, his legacy would be the soft suit at, you know, like Coco Chanel with the black dress, but uh but I think it’s more than that. He was the one who decided not to go into the conglomerates. Mr. Arno, Bernard Arno, the head of the CEO, chairman of LVMH. I remember meeting Mr. Armani and he said, “I’ve been talking to Mr. Arno, but I’m not going to sell it to him. I know Mr. Arno chased after George Armani for years.” and also you know other other companies and have come and talk try to buy his company. He said no we’re not doing that. He decided to keep his company. He didn’t buy anybody else’s either. He did not make a group in the era of groups and he and he he bec you know he maintained his autonomy and he was sort of the the the one who was not going to be the anti- conglomerate. He was the anti- conglomeration and corporatization of fashion. He continued to have his family run and business. It was he he had his niece helping with him. He had his core team of people that had been there since forever. Everybody who worked there has worked there. I mean, I know people who have worked there since the 80s and they were probably there like since forever. No turnover. And it was really a family affair. And in this time when it’s all publicly traded and big groups like Caring and LVMH, Mr. Armani showed that you could remain independent, you could be a very strong and and influential force in fashion. You could maintain your integrity and be successful. What was he like, Dana? Because obviously you met him, you did the journeys with him, you you wrote about him. Um, he must have been a very exacting character. Was there another side to it? Yes, he he was exacting, but he was always lovely and polite. He was actually quite shy. I remember going to a dinner at his home one evening in Milan. Brad Pitt and George Clooney were there, so that was kind of cool. And um and he would circle around, but when every time I looked at him, he was just sort of standing in the, you know, in the middle of the room by himself like a maestro, orchestrating everything, making sure everything was, you know, perfect. But he wasn’t socializing. He was I mean he was hosting but he wasn’t socializing. It was very interesting. So I walked over and I talked to him. He said, “Yes, I’m not really one for small talk.” I’m like, “Well, this I know.” And he said, “And it’s not really my way of being to have parties. I’m I’m a, you know, almost like a monk.” And and I said, “Right.” But he said, “But I love having people. I love welcoming people and watching them have a good time.” So that’s why I do this. And I thought that was very interesting. But he was really like he he worked in his office which was this big beautiful two-story you know room with you know bathed in sunlight and very wouldn’t say austere but paired down simple a desk a chair or two a glass table. It was very simple and very clean like he was. He would dress in his, you know, in an Armani blue t-shirt and Armani blue pants and very comfortable shoes and he he didn’t have distractions. He worked and he was focused, but he was always so polite and so kind as as the French say, so well raised and he was um he was not one of these crazy tyrants that you find in fashion or you know one of these that is you know mood swinging or addictions or anything like that. He you know didn’t drink. He watched to he was very careful about what he ate and uh and he and he was and he worked out all the time. He was very fit up until the end. I saw him when did I see him in in March maybe and he was in good form. Uh he was moving a bit more slowly gingerly but he was still in good form and he still had that twinkle in his eye. Dana, thank you very much indeed for telling us all about Giorgio Armani. It’s sad that he’s passed away, but it’s nice that he’s being remembered with so many smiles, which is, I think, possibly a massive legacy to leave already, as well as the clothes, the designs, and all those stories that you’ve been alluding to. Dana Thomas, fashion and culture journalist and author of Fashionopoulos, who knew, met and wrote about Giorgio Armani, and our own culture editor, Eve Jackson, here in the studio, giving us uh the initial response uh to the passing of what is a true fashion icon. Eve, thank you as always, very much indeed. George Armani who’s passed away at the age of 91. Thank you both.

Giorgio Armani built one of the most iconic fashion empires of the last half century. With his passing, the world bids farewell to a visionary whose name became synonymous with elegance, innovation, and soft power. His legacy lives on in a brand that remains deeply entwined with his identity. It was a “family affair”. To reflect on Armani’s remarkable journey and enduring influence, FRANCE 24’s Mark Owen and Eve Jackson are joined by acclaimed Paris-based author and journalist Dana Thomas. A leading voice in fashion journalism, Ms. Thomas followed Armani’s career closely for 35 years, enjoying rare, unfettered access to the designer and his world. She documented pivotal moments, including his ambitious expansion into China, and featured him in her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster”.
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