In 1975 Italian designer Giorgio Armani launched his own label. Following the phenomenal success of his menswear, Armani used the elements of masculine tailoring to make feminine garments. The design of the Armani jacket is far removed from traditional principles of jacket tailoring. In all cases he stresses simplicity, and minimalism, and his style is renowned for being the perfect bridge between refined elegance and down-to-earth comfort.
Giorgio Armani born 11 July 1934 is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a personal fortune of $8.5 billion as of 2013.
Armani was born in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, where he was raised with older brother Sergio and younger sister Rosanna by his mother Maria Raimondi and father Ugo Armani.
Armani’s father is of Armenian and ItalianArmani was born in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, where he was raised with older brother Sergio and younger sister Rosanna by his mother Maria Raimondi and father Ugo Armani
descent. While Armani appears to be proud of his Armenian heritage, he has never accepted or denied this. Armani aspired to a career in medicine after reading A. J. Cronin‘s The Citadel, and enrolled in the Department of Medicine at the University of Milan.
n 1953, after three years he broke off his studies, and joined the army, because of his medical studies, he was promoted and transferred to an infirmary in Verona. After experiencing hospital life and occasional evenings at the Arena in Verona, he decided to find a different career
After his stint in the armed forces, Armani found a job as a window dresser at La Rinascente, a department store in Milan. He went on to become a seller for the menswear department, in which capacity he gained valuable experience in the marketing aspect of the fashion industry.
In the mid-1960s, Armani moved to the Nino Cerruti company, for which he designed menswear. His skills were in demand, and for the next decade, while continuing to work for Cerutti, Armani also freelanced, contributing designs to as many as ten manufacturers at a time
In the late 1960s, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, an architectural draftsman, which marked the beginning of a personal and professional relationship that lasted for many years. In 1973, Galeotti persuaded him to open a design office in Milan, at 37 corso Venezia. This led to a period of extensive collaboration, during which Armani worked as a freelance designer for a number of fashion houses, including Allegri, Bagutta, Hilton, Sicons, Gibò, Montedoro, and Tendresse. The international press was quick to acknowledge Armani’s importance following the runway shows at the Sala Bianca in the Pitti Palace in Florence.
The experience provided Armani with an opportunity to develop his own style in new ways. He was now ready to devote his energy to his own label, and in 1975 he founded Giorgio Armani S.p.A. in Milan, with his friend Galeotti. In October of that same year, he presented his first collection of men’s ready-to-wear for Spring and Summer 1976 under his own name. He also produced a women’s line for the same season.
Because of the democratic nature of the Emporio line, Armani felt that he had to make use of new and unconventional advertising methods. These included television spots and enormous street ads, together with a house magazine that was sent out by mail to consumers, faithful Armani Eagle wearers.
Armani established an innovative relationship with industry, characterized by the 1978 agreement with Gruppo Finanzario Tessile (GFT), which made it possible to produce luxury ready-to-wear in a manufacturing environment under the attentive supervision of the company’s designer. In 1979, after founding the Giorgio Armani Corporation,
Armani began producing for the United States and introduced the Mani line for men and women. The label became one of the leading names in international fashion with the introduction of several new product lines, including G. A. Le Collezioni,
Giorgio Armani Underwear and Swimwear, and Giorgio Armani Accessories. In the early 1980s the company signed an important agreement with L’Oréal to create perfumes and introduced the Armani Junior, Armani Jeans, and Emporio Armani lines, followed in 1982 by the introduction of Emporio Underwear, Swimwear, and Accessories.
A new store was opened in Milan for the Emporio line, followed by the first Giorgio Armani boutique. Armani’s concern for the end user culminated in the development of a more youthful product with the same level of stylistic quality as his high-end line, but at a more accessible price.
Armani also felt that a relationship with the cinema was essential, both for promotional reasons and for the stimulus to creativity. He designed the costumes forAmerican Gigolo (1980), the success of which led to a long-term collaboration with the world of film. Armani designed costumes for more than one hundred films, one of the most important of which was The Untouchables (1987).
Innovations
Armani was the first designer to ban models with a body mass index (BMI) under 18, after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa.
Armani broadcast his collection live on the Internet, the first in the world of haute couture, on 24 January 2007. The Armani Privé Spring/Summer 2007 fashion show was broadcast via MSN and Cingular cellular phones.
After LG teamed with Prada to introduce the LG Prada phone, Samsung joined Armani to design the Giorgio Armani phone.
Armani has designed many stage outfits for pop superstar Lady Gaga, including those worn on her record breaking Monster Ball Tour and Born This Way Ball Tour. And to many high-profile award shows, such as the 52nd Grammy Awards and the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
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