It was the front row of dreams: Cate Blanchett and Glenn Close gleaming in their white trouser suits; Leonardo DiCaprio hiding behind his beard; Tina Turner applauding wildly; Hilary Swank crossing her narrow, work-out legs; Lauren Hutton, gap-toothed; and eternal sex pot Sophia Loren, proving that life still sings at 80.
Giorgio Armani, nearly 81, celebrating 40 years of his fashion house, brought Hollywood to Milan to see a reprise of his 10-year-old Armani Privé couture line – and view the Silos building the designer has converted from a old grain factory. It is now transformed as a vibrant four-storey display of those years in fashion from bold androgyny to dreamy elegance.
I had to come – for him,” said Cate Blanchett, echoing the warmth that surrounded the designer throughout an evening that ended with a prolonged standing ovation.
That was after the 10 different show themes, from echoes of the ethnic to Chinoiserie with the shine of lacquered box, which were digitally projected on to a runway, filling the background with intense pattern and colour.
“I am very emotional,” Armani admitted earlier in the day, as he opened up the Silos building to his guests. “It’s a walk through 40 years, reminding me of all the people who have worked with me.”
Giorgio greeted me outside the spare stone-and-glass building facing his Milan headquarters, looking as we all know him so well: navy sportswear, illuminated at top and bottom by his silver hair and white sneakers.
He then gave me the privilege of a walkthrough of the four floors, showing me with his particular, quiet elegance. It started with the signature beige of his early daywear, in which trouser-clad women broke the sexist glass ceiling, and led on to the glamorous evening gowns worn by Hollywood. Thirteen separate display sections include outfits that are not done by year, but each mixing different pieces from the Italian maestro’s long career.
“I am nearly 81 years old – and I have given my life to this,” the designer said later, when we had crossed over to the original Armani building designed by Tadao Ando, where I have seen so many fashion shows – and where that evening’s elegant extravaganza would take place.
