FLASH
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A polite crowd bids final farewell to Armani. From Elkann to Versace, entrepreneurs, designers and celebrities pay tribute to King George...
Never before had a funeral been so lively. From the endless line that wrapped around the Silo where his funeral casket was erected, one thing was more evident than anything else: Armani educated the world with his style.
The last day of his farewell was even clearer than when he was still alive. Because everyone, absolutely everyone, from the contractor from Bergamo to the woman who arrived in a Maserati from Zone C to the VIPs themselves, knew exactly what Giorgio Armani expected of them. And everyone, absolutely everyone, obeyed: with silence, calm, respect and modest clothing. The flowers were only white and no excessive selfies. Which means that everyone, absolutely everyone, knew the Armani attitude and were ready to embody it for him.
The long white corridor and, at the end, a black room: the darkness softened by a carpet of three hundred paper lanterns lit by naked flames and the music of Ludovico Einaudi, the yellow wooden coffin, the bouquet of white roses that stood on top and a sculpture of Christ on the cross that Armani kept in his bedroom, placed nearby.
Behind King George, a giant screen displayed his picture greeting the crowd at the end of a fashion show and the final phrase: "The legacy I hope to leave is a legacy of commitment, respect and care for people and for reality."
Reality lined up on the first Saturday of September to give back a little of what he gave, with thousands of caresses to his closed coffin. Six thousand, to be exact. Because so many people went to pay their respects to "Mr. Armani."
And all around were "his" people, dressed in dark suits, inconsolable but tireless at work to make his wishes, which they had always known perfectly, a reality. And grateful, because this time with him was truly their time.
At 8am, the designer's coffin arrived, greeted by a prolonged applause from those already waiting in line. One of the first to pay his respects, at his residence in Via Borgognone 59, was Milan's mayor, Beppe Sala, who proposed that the designer be inscribed in Famedio, if the family agreed: "Milan is full of him, it's impossible to forget him."
"He was the person I wanted to be. A piece of the beauty of life is gone," said Gabriele Salvatores, looking quite elegant in his Armani suit.
"There are those who have the perfect voice, Giorgio Armani had the perfect eye", was the greeting from the architect Massimiliano Fuksas, among the many celebrities who came to pay homage to the King. Among them were Letizia Moratti, former president of the Lombardy Region, Roberto Formigoni, Luciano Buonfiglio, president of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, president of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Foundation, Matteo Marzotto and John Elkann.
Also present were Giuseppe Tornatore, Mario Lavezzi, Carla Sozzani, Simona Ventura, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Massimo Lopez, Jo Squillo, Argentine model Valeria Mazza with her husband Alejandro Gravier, Mario Boselli, honorary president of the Italian National Fashion Chamber, the president of the Italian Basketball Federation, Gianni Petrucci, architect Stefano Boeri, who stood in line with the citizens, and Christian Vieri.
Matteo Ceccherini, who created the soundtrack of Armani events for 25 years, and Luca Dondoni, who did so for 44 collections before him... And of course Donatella Versace, among the first to arrive with a bouquet of white orchids that she placed on the coffin after saying goodbye to the designer's partner and right-hand man, Leo Dell'Orco: a Versace touch that lovingly "spoils" the rigor of Armani's essential aesthetic.
There were also many messages and obituaries to remember him: from Marina Berlusconi to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who even recalled wearing Armani the day she was sworn in as Prime Minister. And then the multitude of flowers and wreaths, all strictly white, placed in silos and brought from everywhere: "From the ship's crew" was written on a pillow of roses sent by employees on board his yacht.
The chapel of rest will remain open today and the funeral will be private tomorrow. The funeral will take place in Broni, at the foot of the Oltrepò Pavese hills, and then the final farewell will be in Cigognola, at the magnificent Villa Rosa estate where Armani went "to see the light". Tomorrow, the group's stores will be closed and there will be a day of mourning in Milan and in Pantelleria, where the designer owned a magnificent dammuso and where he would have liked to visit again for his last summer.
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