Giorgio Armani: the whisper of essential elegance
A coherent language, an ethic of doing that is expressed through a sense of measure and attention to every detail: a portrait of the pragmatic inventor.
2' min read
2' min read
"If I only had a magic formula, over the years it would have worn out or, worse still, someone would have taken possession of it. Unless by magic you mean intuition, timing, a certain sensibility", so said Giorgio Armani, in one of his last interviews with HTSI, suggesting that ability to transform the "whisper of an essential elegance" into personal and professional language, consistent with himself without interruption. The world that Giorgio Armani has built in his 91 years of life and 50 of company is made of mirrors, it is first of all his portrait, traced on the fabric of an absolute dedication to work, "the ethics of commitment, of doing and doing well".
Every one of his collections, every one of his suits, every one of his campaigns, every fashion photograph speaks of him and not only because, right up to the last, he personally oversaw and controlled everything - his reputation as a leader who did not miss a detail is legendary. It speaks of him because the way Giorgio Armani chose to express himself is to do. A 'pragmatic inventor', as he called himself.
His jackets, where every season he would explore one more detail - "I shortened it, lightened it, made it in wool or silk, elegant or witty, loose like a cardigan, one-piece, double-breasted, buttonless, kimono, safari jacket, bolero, light as a shirt..." - are not only facets of Armani's classic, they are his language. - are not only the facets of classic Armani, they are its language. Like the letters of an alphabet, they are written and rewritten, broken down and recomposed to tell and recount, in a journey simultaneously of discovery and confirmation, novelty and continuity.
In the ten years of HTSI made in Italy, Giorgio Armani has been the star of many interviews, he was a cover character at the opening of the Silos in Milan and the reopening of the Armani Ginza Tower in Tokyo. But it was above all his fashion that spoke for him, collection after collection, and there is perhaps no better way today to remember him and hear the clarity of his voice. As soon as the news of his death broke, the company chose to publish a single sentence, just a few white lines on a black background and the unmistakable handwritten signature of King Giorgio: "The mark I hope to leave is one of commitment, respect and attention to people and reality. That is where it all begins'.
