High Fashion Design

The Past and the Present
Giorgio Armani was born on July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, about 50 miles south of Milan, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. He attended medical school for two years, dabbled in photography, fulfilled his military obligations in 1957, then worked in a prestigious department store, La Rinascente, as a window dresser. He joined Nino Cerruti as a designer from 1961 to 1970.

>Armani began a free-lance design business in 1970 with the encouragement of his close friend Sergio Galeotti, and established his own men's wear label in 1974. He gradually adapted his designs for women and added a women's wear line in 1975, in partnership with Galeotti (who passed away in 1985). His sister Rosanna Armani teamed up with Armani as head of communication activities of the company (our picture shows Giorgio Armani with his sister).

They proclaimed him the " King of Jackets!" after Giorgio Armani's first menswear collection in 1974. The Milanese master had taken the innards out of the traditionally rigid and boxy blazer, producing the new unstructured, let-your-hair-down jacket that became the defining garment of the yuppie '80s. He then inserted himself into mainstream male sub-consciousness by dressing Richard Gere in "American Gigolo", thereby offering American men the option of Italian chic. Neurotically intelligent women found a heroine in Diane Keaton's Annie Hall, clad in an Armani tweed jacket, and Time magazine consecrated Armani's iconic status by putting him on the cover in 1982 -- only the second designer to be thus honored since Christian Dior.

Giorgio Armani has been producing fashion since he and his partner Sergio Galeotti set up their design studio in 1970. Unlike most long-running fashion designers, there is remarkably little in Armani's 18 year-old archive that looks ridiculous or even very dated in retrospect. He has perfected a formula that achieves the tricky balance between the novelty that the industry demands and dignified timelessness: a neutral color base, careful tailoring that suggests the body without flaunting it, and the absence of extraneous detail -- an attribute of men's tailoring. His tunics and soft, collarless jackets tend to be long. Pants are generously cut, though from one season to another, Armani may tuck in the cuffs to give them a faint harem resemblance. Ornamentation is usually derived from the fabrics, like the filigrees of silvery embroidery on tulle dresses in a recent collection.

Armani, whose relaxed designs for women are inspired by men's wear, also uses men's wear fabrics in his sophisticated, unstructured jackets and suits for women. With this approach, Armani has established a new standard of understated elegance: easy-fit garments for women, precisely cut and beautifully tailored.

GIORGIO ARMANI
PROFILE DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH July 11th, 1934 in Piacenza, Italy
WORK ADDRESS Via Borgonuovo 11 20121 Milan Tel. 02/723181
EDUCATION High school and 2 years at the University of Piacenza, Faculty of Medicine
WORK EXPERIENCE
1957-64: Buyer for La Rinascente department store
1964-70: Fashion designer for Hitman, Nino Cerruti's men's clothing company
1970: Freelance fashion designer for various companies
1975: Together with Sergio Galeotti, he founded GIORGIO ARMANI S.p.A. and created his own label of men's and women's ready-to-wear clothing
1975-80: Launch of new labels GIORGIO ARMANI Borgonuovo 21 (men's and women's wear) GIORGIO ARMANI LE COLLEZIONI (men's) and women's wear (USA and Canada) MANI men's (USA and Canada) and women's wear (rest of the world) ARMANI JUNIOR GIORGIO ARMANI UNDERWEAR (men's and women's wear) GIORGIO ARMANI SWIMWEAR (men's and women's wear) GIORGIO ARMANI ACCESSORIES (for men and women)
1981: Launch of EMPORIO ARMANI and ARMANI JEANS (men's and women's wear)
1982: Armani becomes the first fashion designer after Christian Dior to appear on the cover of 'Time' magazine
1982: Launch of EMPORIO ARMANI UNDERWEAR/SWIMWEAR (men's and women's wear)
1982: Launch of EMPORIO ARMANI ACCESSORIES (for men and women)
1982: Launch of ARMANI women's fragance
1984: Launch of ARMANI men's fragance
1987: Launch of GIORGIO ARMANI OCCHIALI (eyewear for men and women)
1987: Launch of GIORGIO ARMANI CALZE (hoisery)
1989: Launch of EMPORIO ARMANI Gift Collection (items for the home and bath)
1991: Launch of A/X: Armani Exchange (men's and women's wear)
1992: Launch of GIO' women's fragance
1995: Launch of GIORGIO ARMANI NEVE (Skiwear) and GIORGIO ARMANI GOLF (men's and women's wear)
1995: Launch of ACQUA DI GIO' women's fragance
1996: Launch of ACQUA DI GIO' men's fragance
1997: Launch of EMPORIO ARMANI OROLOGI (watches for men and women)
1998: Launch of EMPORIO ARMANI fragance for men and women
1999: Launch of EMPORIO ARMANI BEAUTY COMPONENTS.

AWARDS
1979: NEIMAN MARCUS Fashion Award
1980,1981,1984,1986,1987: Five time winner of CUTTY SARK AWARD for the International Top Men's Fashion Designer
1981: G.Q. Magazine Men's Style Award for Best Fashion Designer
1982: AMBROGINO D'ORO from Municipality of Milan
1982: LEON D'ORO from Lions Club, Piacenza
1982,1983: FIL D'OR AWARD Festival International du Lin, Paris
1983: Gold Medal from Municipality of Piacenza
1983: Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Award for Best International Designer
1985: First Designer Laureate of the CUTTY SARK Men's Fashion Award
1985: COMMENDATORE DELL'ORDINE AL MERITO DELLA REPUBBLICA (Italian Government Award)
1984,1986,1987,1988: OCCHIO D'ORO for Best Designer for his Spring/Summer Collections
1986: GRAND'UFFICIALE DELL'ORDINE AL MERITO DELLA REPUBBLICA (Italy's Highest Government Award)
1986,1987: OCCHIOLINO D'ORO for Best Designer for his Autumn/Winter Collections
1987: GRAN CAVALIERE DELLA REPUBBLICA (Italian Government Award)
1987: FIL D'OR AWARD Festival International du Lin, Montecarlo
1987: LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for men's wear given by the CFDA
1988/89: OCCHIO D'ORO for Best Designer for his Autumn/Winter Collections
1988: CHRISTOBAL BALENCIAGA AWARD Madrid, for Best International Designer
1988: MEDIA KEY AWARD for Armani Fragance Commercial directed by Martin Scorsese
1989: WOOLMARK AWARD, New York
1989: SENKEN AWARD, Japan
1989: PUBBLICITA' E SUCCESSO AWARD for Armani Jeans Commercial
1990: Award from PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals), Washington D.C.
1991: Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Art, London
1992: FIORINO D'ORO, for promoting "Made in Italy" image, Florence
1992: WOOLMARK AWARD, for Best New International Men's Collection, New York 1992: OCCHIO D'ORO for Best Italian Designer Of The Year
1993: Honorary nomination from the Brera Academy, Milan
1993: AGUJA DE ORO AWARD for Best Designer Of The Year, Madrid
1993:TELVA TRIUNFADOR AWARD for Best International Designer Of The Year, Madrid
1994: OCCHIO D'ORO for Best Italian Designer Of The Year
1994: LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for the Arts and Fashion given by NIAF (National Italian American Foundation), Washington D.C.
1995: TOGETHER FOR PEACE FOUNDATION, Rome
1995: MASCHERA D'ORO, Campione d'Italia
1995: TELVA TRIUNFADOR DE BELLEZA AWARD for Acqua di Giò women's fragance, Madrid
1995: Designer Of The Year, Best Modern Classics, MARIE CLAIRE UK
1996: MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD, given by GQ USA readers, New York
1997: Designer Of The Year, Best Modern Classics, MARIE CLAIRE US
1998: Award from Il Sole 24 Ore and Bain, Cuneo e Ass. for Best Financial Results in Italy
1998: Winner of 1998 BAMBI AWARD for Best International Designer, Karlsruhe, Germany

The Armani empire now consists of 13 clothing lines, ranging from the lower-priced Emporio Armani that was launched in 1984 and the sporty A/X Armani Exchange line to specific niche lines such as his golfwear. There are also, of course, the jeans, the Armani underwear, the accessories and fragrances.

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