FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
A story that looks like a movie! Giorgio Armani, the man with the iron will who for 50 years conquered the fashion world in Milan, building an empire where every detail was his, had the opportunity to write the last chapter of his extraordinary story himself, immortalizing it on the fashion runway that he has loved and remembered all his life.
Armani spent the last few months planning a celebration for his brand's 50th anniversary with a show in the romantic courtyard of the Pinacoteca di Brera gallery in central Milan, where an exhibition dedicated to him has just opened. "Save the Date" invitations for the night of September 28 were sent out before he passed away earlier this month.
This anniversary turned into a belated farewell. Armani's extravaganza turned out to be sadder, but also more grand and spectacular than he had planned. Invitations called for black tie, and T-shirts with a black-and-white portrait of a young Armani were also distributed.
Some guests tucked their blouses under their elegant jackets. In the front row, Lauren Hutton in a white suit sat next to Cate Blanchett and white-haired Richard Gere, the actor who left an indelible mark on both cinema and fashion in the 1980 film “American Gigolo.”
“I had to be here for him,” said designer Paul Smith. “He was a brilliant man, but also very simple, like me. The first time I met him, he was cleaning the street outside his shop. If you think about it, he was probably the first man to wear a T-shirt under a suit. Today, everyone does.”
After a week of torrential rain, the sky opened up over the glittering runway in the courtyard lit by lampposts. The last collection Armani worked on was deeply personal and sentimental. The clothes were a love letter to two of his favorite places: the historic Brera neighborhood where he lived and worked, and the island of Pantelleria, where he had a vacation home, in Sicily.
Anna Wintour this week described Armani as “one of the heads of state of fashion.” His most beloved models from all eras, including Gina Di Bernardo, a star of early advertising campaigns, walked slowly to the sounds of a piano. The only posthumous change made by Armani’s team was to tone down the after-show party.
Instead of a dance floor, small plates of risotto were served and a visit was organized to the exhibition "Milano: Per Amore", the first fashion exhibition at the Pinacoteca di Brera, where 120 "masterpieces" of Armani, according to the gallery's director Angelo Crespi, are placed among the works of Caravaggio and Raphael in a special dialogue with art.
A deep navy blue dress and bodysuit, which Juliette Binoche wore to the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, was paired with a Bellini Madonna painting, where the figure wore a cloak of the same color.
Now the focus has turned from the past to the future of the Armani empire. The designer left precise instructions for his heirs, calling not only for the sale of the brand but also suggesting preferred buyers: French luxury giant LVMH, L'Oréal, its partner in beauty brands, and eyewear company EssilorLuxottica. In the interim, the company will be run by his family and close partner and right-hand man, Leo Dell'Orco.
Lini një Përgjigje