Fashion icon Giorgio Armani dies
Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died aged 91. He was an icon of the global fashion scene for decades. Armani started out in the 1970s as a self-taught designer and built up an empire that eventually encompassed jewellery, perfumes, interior design and luxury hotels as well as clothing. He also defined the Italian prêt-à-porter style which brought him international fame.
A force against society's vulgarity
La Stampa explains what characterises Armani's elegance:
“Moderation, rigour, the rejection of excess and frills, the art of omitting rather than adding. ... Armani said that elegance means not to stand out, but to be remembered. ... Well, this sobriety, this decency is clearly out of date in an increasingly vulgar, exhibitionist, kitschy country. ... It's hard to imagine influencers, footballers, reality TV stars, but also populist politicians or opinion makers wearing Armani. They want to stand out, so they exaggerate. And this exaggeration, be it emotional, linguistic, in behaviour or in clothing, is the true hallmark of the vulgar society that overpowers us day after day.”
Protestant revolutionary
Armani was like a second Luther, journalist Sergei Nikolayevich writes in a Facebook post reprinted by Echo:
“What he did for Italian fashion can only be compared to Martin Luther's rebellion against papal authority. A devout Catholic in his personal life, Giorgio Armani turned out to be a strict Protestant in his work. Nothing superfluous, the austere asceticism of black and white, all shades of sand and ash. ... Armani was the first to set a completely new standard for male elegance. Classic in proportions, but not boring in form. Impeccable in cut, but contemporary in style. It really was a revolution that was first appreciated by ... women.”
Confidence for the clueless
Commenting in ABC, columnist Salvador Sostres says he has Armani to thank for his own sense of fashion:
“Giorgio Armani created the elegance of the modern man. Thanks to him, we could dress well and be proud of it without looking ridiculous. He taught us a way of moving in the world; he cultivated us. ... And he was not just important for men, but also for working women, because they could go straight from work to a business lunch in his black jacket without having to go home to change. ... Armani leaves us with the quality of his fabrics, his elegant sobriety and the certainty that even if we know nothing about fashion, we will always look good in his clothes.”