Jason Horowitz

As Rome bureau chief for The New

York Times, Jason Horowitz began his pandemic reporting early, scuttling a ski vacation in February 2020 to cover Italy’s first coronavirus outbreak. Yet a year of lockdowns in Rome with his wife, Claudia, their kids, Elena and Luca, and a new puppy, Agrippina, had its charms. “It was crowded and trying but also wonderful,” Horowitz reflects. Recently the journalist spoke to designer Giorgio Armani

(“Voice of Reason,” page 106) about the fashion industry and COVID-19. A “giant who looms over Milan,” Mr. Armani cut a fearsome figure, Horowitz admits, but their meeting was fruitful: “After a few minutes, he loosened up, laughed a few times, and was generous with his time and thoughts.”