Giorgio Armani
Armani — and its feel
When it comes to style, the first letter in the alphabet of Italian fashion is A as in Armani.
The first and only Armani Collezioni shop for men in Finland has opened in the Stockmann department store in the centre of Helsinki. The shop's selection is supplemented continually and expresses Giorgio Armani's vision of clothes; the watchwords of which are elegance, attractiveness, casualness and being in touch with the times. In addition to Armani Collezioni's stylish ready-to-wear clothes, you can buy bespoke Armani suits from Stockmann.
The road to fame
Giorgio Armani was born in 1934 and opted for a career in
fashion after first studying medicine and photography. He also
worked as a window-dresser at the La Rinacente department store in
Milan. The skills he acquired in the department store earned him a
place as an assistant in Nino Cerrutti's fashion house, from where
he continued to study with Ungaro and Ermenegildo Zegna.
Armani established his own company in 1974 starting out with a
men's collection. In 1975 he also designed ladies' clothes. In the
1970s Giorgio Armani popularised an entirely new kind of "English"
style in which the most important piece of apparel was a subdued
wool suit. These suits were evocative of the scenery of the moors
and the elevated characters of Jane Austen's novels.
In the 1980s Armani entered the consciousness of the general
public through the film American Gigolo which placed material
possessions at centre stage. American Gigolo was director Paul
Schrader's most popular film, in which Richard Gere and Lauren
Hutton wear the most elegant luxury clothes in scenes shot in the
most extravagant apartments. The film was emblematic of the yuppie
period and its young, urban and professional charm.
Today, Armani is possibly even more popular than during the 1980s.
His clothes are worn by top business people as well as rap stars
(such as 50 Cent) — they simply make the people who wear them look
better.
Armani's fashion philosophy
"When I think about fashion, I think about something intrinsic
to my life. When I think about style, I think of it as the only
real luxury that anyone can afford to indulge with or without
money. And when I think about elegance, I think of how one achieves
it only by silencing loud trends," Armani has said.
These ideals have guided his work from the beginning. Armani's
style endures across seasons and variations and appeals most
strongly to those who share his vision.
