need to know: giorgio armani
The Italian designer talks fashion, film and family
We chat to the iconic Italian designer.
WHAT FASHION SHOW DO YOU
My own MOST WISH YOU’D SEEN? first fashion show [in 1974], sitting in the audience rather than backstage, because that’s when it all began.
WHO WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD HERO?
I always admired my mother Maria’s commitment and sense of duty. We didn’t have much, but we had everything we needed [Armani was born and raised in Piacenza, northern Italy, with his younger sister Rosanna, older brother Sergio and his father Ugo]. It was all thanks to her.
DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT DAY OFF… Peacefully at home in Milan with my own things, wrapped in hushed silence. Most of the objects in my home have sentimental value and represent special places in my life; for example, I have a large painting that comes from an old cinema in Piacenza.
YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK? The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-exupéry, because it’s important to keep our inner child alive.
WHAT’S YOUR INNER-GEEK
I have to keep my desk OBSESSION? in perfect order with plenty of notes, sketches and memos.
STYLE IS… The impact of what we are on what we do.
DESCRIBE YOUR EMPORIO ARMANI SHOW FOR SS16. Airy, ethereal, enveloping.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE
Pantelleria, an IN THE WORLD? island that sits between Sicily and Tunisia. It’s my favourite retreat; it’s like a dark rock in the middle of the deep blue sea.
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS
Probably as DESCRIBE YOU? a meticulous, fussy and demanding person, but I also hope I would be described as a fun man and a true friend.
YOUR DREAM DINNER PARTY?
I would have it at home with the people I love, my friends and family. I realise I don’t spend enough time with them because of my job. I’d serve my signature dish: Piacenzastyle tortelli. It was one of my favourite meals when I was a kid and I still love it.
BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE
Something EVER BEEN GIVEN? I learned from my parents: to be myself and never give up.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR?
Greige [grey-beige].
DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? I have two Scottish Fold cats, Angel and Mairi, who I gladly share my sofa with when I get to relax at home.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR 16-YEAR-OLD SELF? To be more light-hearted in everything I did.
WHAT WOULD YOUR ALTERNATIVE
CAREER BE? I’ve always said that if I didn’t make it as a fashion designer, I would have become a film director. But, at least for now, I’m not going to get myself behind a camera. I just admire the work of real, great directors from afar, such as Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan and Paolo Sorrentino, who I’ve been lucky enough to build genuine friendships with over time.
TELL US SOMETHING SURPRISING ABOUT YOURSELF… I have a keen sense of humour.