A lantern-lit floor, the cream columns of the prestigious Pinacoteca di Brera art gallery, draped off-white curtains, and the glistening sparkle of long blue dresses set the scene for Giorgio Armani’s tribute and final show on 28 September. After the shock to the fashion world of losing one of the most influential designers of the century just three weeks before the show, his team ensured his memory was upheld by continuing with the celebrations of 50 years of Armani, paying tribute to the brand and the man, and his influence on the fashion world.
The designs incorporated traditional Armani elements: relaxed-fit suits, collarless shirts and muted colours to uphold the timeless, understated minimalism that gives the brand its elegance. But ensuring the clothes reflected Armani refinement did not prevent them from also picking up on styles being presented in the Spring/Summer season across the fashion world. Standout styles were the reintroduction of the use of larger and more interesting buttons, sheer tops and asymmetrical embellishments.
Armani started his work in fashion in 1957, following dropping out of university. After completing military service in Milan, he fell in love with idealised beauty in the Milanese cinemas and started to design window displays for the department store La Rinascente. On the back of designing for Nino Cerruti for six years, Armani created his own collection of menswear in July 1975. His designs were revolutionary – the relaxed fit and muted colours had not yet been used in ready-to-wear collections for men. One of the most influential moments for the fashion house was when Richard Gere was dressed head-to-toe in Armani for his role in the film American Gigolo in 1980, catapulting the brand’s fame and causing sales to skyrocket, making the company global.
Giorgio Armani revolutionised the industry by turning against trends and favouring his own aesthetic in his looks, coining widely used looks such as the t-shirt under a relaxed-fit suit, deconstructed tailoring creating larger silhouettes, and dressing women in this androgynous way. One of the most iconic Armani looks has to be Linda Evangelista dressed in a grey suit with shoulder pads, an oversized tie effortlessly swung over her neck, and a white shirt left open at the collar, for the 1991 Spring RTW show. As well as this, Armani’s clothes were seen on the likes of Princess Diana, just before her death in 1997, Diane Keaton at the 1978 Oscars, and Princess Charlene of Monaco in 2011, who wore a custom Armani gown for her wedding. This clearly shows the range of influential people he dressed over the years, proving the popularity of the brand.
Overall, the show was a beautiful and fitting tribute to such an iconic figure in the fashion industry – and Giorgio Armani’s legacy will live on in his designs and his fashion house for years to come.