Elegance and humanism

Georgio Armani died. We recall the path of the great designer - from fears of military childhood to the “quiet” show in support of Ukraine

At the age of 91, Georgio Armani, an Italian fashion designer and founder of the same business empire, died. He went down in history as a designer who changed his ideas about style and beauty. In fashion, he saw primarily a manifestation of communication, freedom and solidarity. New Europe tells what he will remember.

In February 2022, the models in the new dresses of Georgio Armani went to the podium without any musical accompaniment, in absolute silence. The designer decided to imagine his collection at Milan Fashion Week as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.

So Armani was the first to use the show at one of the main world fashion sites to condemn the Russian invasion. In an interview with the British Vogue, the designer explained that the idea came to him a few hours before the start of the show.

“I really wanted to show that my heart is with Ukrainians. I needed to find a way to convey to them that we do not celebrate here, because what is happening there really bothers me.

Therefore, I told my team that I did not want any music in the show. Everyone was touched, and I think that both behind the scenes and in the theater was louder and much stronger than any music, ”he said.

This is not the only attempt by Armani to help Ukraine. In March of the same year, The Armani Group announced the donation of 500 thousand euros of the UN Supreme Commissioner for Refugees (UN UN) to assist and protect Ukrainian refugees.

The company also promised to transfer clothes to the needy: the Italian non -profit organization Comunità di Sant'egidio distributed it on the border with Ukraine.

Childhood that has changed everything

Armani himself well understood what war is. He was born during the Great Depression, in July 1934, and grew up at the fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini in the city of Piachenets in northern Italy, which was subjected to intensive bombing during the Second World War.

In his memoirs, Armani recalled how scary to live under shelling and hide in shelters. The designer openly talked about the direct consequences of the war, when there was neither money nor food.

Armani's father worked as a clerk at the local headquarters of the Nazis, and Georgio remembered well what his shape looked like : "Black jacket made of rough woolen fabric, baggy gray-blue dimensions, a black tie over a black shirt."

The salvation for the future fashion designer during the war was a black and white movie and a local theater, where his grandfather worked as a manufacturer of wigs. In productions, he was not least amazed by the beauty of the scenery. Those impressions to this day are reflected in the design and images of Armani, noted Vogue.

Maybe all this resulted in the unique ability of Armani to create seemingly simple, but actually refined and expressive things. He “has the ability to create simplicity, behind which the complexity of his talent, inspiration and ambitions is hidden”, Harper's Bazaar magazine described the work of the fashion designer.

Rules, borders and cut

In the Armani industry is considered a designer who fundamentally changed the rules of modern fashion. So, he was the first to ban the models with an index of body weight less than 18 (the weight in kilograms is divided into a square of growth in meters) to go to the podium. Armani made such a decision after the fashion model Ana Carolina Resto died of hunger due to anorexia nervous.

“I violated the design rules, but never sought to commit a revolution. It just followed his instincts.

He freed people from an uncomfortable cut and at the same time erased the boundaries between what was considered “male” and “female” clothes, ”

- said the fashion designer about his vision. So, in 1978, actress Diane Kiton, whose image created Armani, went out to receive an Oscar for his role in the “Annie Hall” Woody Allen in an elongated gray jacket with a pink flower in a buttonhole, which became an event in itself. And in 1990, actress Julia Roberts appeared in an Armani men's suit at the presentation of the Golden Globe.

The brand costumes could be noticed on the screen. For example, Armani was responsible for the image of the character of Richard Gira in the 1980 American Gorel film. Later, the actor put on an outfit of the Italian fashion designer for his own wedding with Sydney Crawford. In the “inglorious bastards” Quentin Tarantino, the character of Brad Pitt pretends to be an Italian in the tuxedo of Armani, the costume of this brand is also worn by Bruce Wayne (Christian Baile) in two parts of the “dark knight” of Christopher Nolan.

Armani was a great fan of sports. He held the post of president of the Olympia Milan basketball team, and also dressed the England national football team, the London Chelsea and the Italian Napoli, the banners at the opening of the Winter Olympiad in Turin and Olympians in Summer Games in London. Since 2021, the brand has been working with pilots and the Ferrari technical team.

The Armani company is in the status of a business empire, covering almost all levels of business pyramids: from high fashion, perfumes and watches-to furniture, hotels and optics. Today, the company's annual turnover is about $ 2.3 billion, while the designer himself took a place in the top 500 richest people in the world.

Armani seriously reacted to the pandemic of coronavirus. During the fashion week in Milan, even before the abolition of all large-scale events, he decided to conduct an online broadcast of his show instead of showing it in the usual way. Other designers did not follow his example. When the factories were obliged to introduce quarantine, Armani suspended the usual production to engage in sewing medical overalls.

“I considered it my duty to contribute during the emergency, providing what is really necessary [to people]. This crisis requires a contribution from each of us. This is mine.

We all must be activated, because we are all part of humanity: everything is so simple. We are not a privileged minority, and we all should get rid of this image of thinking ",

He explained in an interview with The Talks.