The
Italian Fashion icon Giorgio Armani tells his plans about the future. The luxurious
house Armani has built is a reflection of himself—the trim, toned, tanned and
T-shirted figure that is
synonymous with the brand—and he wants to secure a
long lasting relationship for both of them.
Few people in the fashion world are as entwined
with their brands. In most companies, a creative director designs and an
executive manages. However Armani is unique in the sense that it does both
giving it a competitive advantage. Many important designers, including Karl
Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs, work under contract for brands that aren't their
own. Armani hasn't designed for anyone else in more than 30 years. Most houses
are owned by large conglomerates, and for those that still belong to their
founding families, ownership is usually shared. Armani owns 100 percent of
Giorgio Armani SpA.
Armani
takes full responsibility, and credit, for anything that bears his name. At a
meeting last year about a new Armani-branded hotel in Marrakech—hotels are the
designer's latest big venture—Armani sparred with the architect Jean-Michel
Gathy over the layout of the rooms. "This bathroom is too big. It's a
bathroom with a house on the side," Armani said in French. "I tell
you this is a beautiful room. You can walk around naked, and no one will see
you," insisted Gathy. "You don't need to walk around naked every
day," snapped Armani. "This is too structured, too busy. I want
simplicity, simplicity." The layout has since been changed.
Armani returns to the role of fashion
designers. Fashion makes no sense, he says, unless it serves the primary
purpose of dressing people. Take, for instance, a winter collection made of
organza because organza is trendy. "Well, that's absurd, because in winter
it's cold and you can't go around naked," Armani says, rolling his R s the
French way, which in Italian is a slight idiosyncrasy of speech that exudes an
air of aristocracy. "This is a serious business," he adds. "This
isn't a game. This is not just about fashion victims." Yet he chafes at
not being a critical darling.