Giorgio Armani's Legacy Goes Beyond Commerce‭ - ‬Into Culture

Four years ago‭, ‬in Downtown Dubai‭, ‬Coldplay front man Chris Martin serenaded the Burj Khalifa at a private celebration for the 10‭-‬year anniversary of Dubai's Armani Hotel‭. ‬Seated barefoot at a piano‭ (‬earlier‭, ‬the singer had quipped that Armani couldn't find his shoe size‭), ‬Martin dedicated Coldplay's single‭ ‬A Sky Full of Stars‭ ‬to the world's tallest building‭, ‬anchored by the Armani Hotel Dubai‭. ‬

“I don't want to make all the other buildings jealous‭,‬”‭ ‬he smiled‭, ‬looking up at the dazzling skyscraper effortlessly eclipsing its neighbours‭. ‬Martin's performance followed a catwalk showcasing Giorgio Armani's spring/summer 2022‭ ‬men and women's collections‭, ‬and Armani Privé haute couture looks‭. ‬It was a celebration of quietly soaring ambition and timeless style‭. ‬Much like the symbiosis between the Armani Group and the UAE‭.‬

This month‭, ‬another star is added to the sky‭. ‬On September 4‭, ‬aged 91‭, ‬fashion designer Giorgio Armani died at his home in Milan‭. ‬He was the chairman‭, ‬chief executive‭, ‬and creative director of the‭ ‬€2.3‭ ‬billion‭ (‬Dh9.9‭ ‬billion‭) ‬Armani Group‭, ‬a company controlled solely by him‭, ‬up until his death‭. ‬

The most commercially successful designer of his time‭ ‬-‭ ‬at 208‭, ‬he was the highest placed fashion designer in this year's‭ ‬Forbes‭ ‬World Billionaires list‭, ‬with an estimated net worth of‭ $‬11.8‭ ‬billion‭ (‬Dh43‭ ‬billion‭) ‬-‭ ‬Armani's legacy goes beyond commerce‭, ‬into culture‭. ‬And that's where Armani's resonance with the UAE runs deepest‭. ‬It was in 1994‭ ‬that Al Tayer Insignia‭, ‬the conglomerate behind a large swathe of the Middle East's luxury retail landscape‭, ‬opened its first luxury fashion store‭. ‬The name above the door‭? ‬Giorgio Armani‭. ‬

Born in 1934‭, ‬Armani launched his eponymous company in 1975‭, ‬aged 41‭ (‬entrepreneurs young and old‭, ‬take note‭). ‬His fluid designs‭ ‬and neutral palette came to define the 1980s era of modern power dressing‭, ‬and when Armani opened a showroom in Los Angeles in‭ ‬1988‭, ‬the brand became synonymous with celebrity and cinema‭.

‬It's a relationship that thrives to this day‭, ‬with the Venice Film Festival playing host to Armani's 50th anniversary celebration just days before his passing‭, ‬attracting stars such as Cate Blanchett and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley‭. ‬Never in doubt‭, ‬the event reinforced the breathtaking desirability of the Armani fashion canon‭; ‬whether an immaculate ivory‭ ‬trouser suit à la Blanchett‭, ‬or a more daring cut-away gown trimmed with feathers from the Armani Privé couture line‭, ‬as worn by‭ ‬Huntington-Whiteley‭ (‬those not in possession of chiselled A-list abs need not apply‭).

‬Both women embody Armani's ethos as the antithesis of fast fashion‭, ‬and the discipline that's found in controlled simplicity‭. ‬Despite eschewing the kinds of visually attention-grabbing designs that commandeer social media algorithms‭, ‬in 2007‭ ‬Armani became the first luxury house to broadcast his fashion shows live on the Internet‭. ‬

A foresight into‭ ‬the digital democratisation of fashion that shares a visionary outlook with the Group's partners in the UAE‭. ‬As well as Armani fashion and interiors stores‭, ‬and the Armani Hotel and Residences in Burj Khalifa‭, ‬the‭ ‬UAE is also set to host Armani Beach Residences on Palm Jumeirah and the first Armani branded villas in the world‭, ‬which are being developed in Ras Al Khaimah‭. ‬

Granted a UAE Golden Visa in 2021‭, ‬Armani may have been quintessentially Italian‭, ‬but the UAE is‭ ‬pivotal to the Armani universe‭. ‬Both approach storytelling with the cinematic scope of Martin Scorsese‭ ‬-‭ ‬a longtime Armani collaborator‭ ‬-‭ ‬and embody a classic elegance that cuts through noise‭, ‬transcends trends‭, ‬commands commercial success‭, ‬and‭, ‬like Armani's legacy‭, ‬creates a constellation of stars‭. ‬

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