Armani
Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (pronounced [ˈdʒordʒo arˈmaːni]), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and home interiors. Among others, Armani licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear[2] and L'Oréal for fragrances and cosmetics.[3] It is considered Italy's third-biggest fashion group behind Gucci and Prada.[4]
This article is about the fashion company. For the designer himself, see Giorgio Armani. For other uses, see Armani (disambiguation).Company type
In addition to the couture line Armani Privé, Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani are the company's ready-to-wear lines that show at Milan Fashion Week. Selling at lower prices are Armani Collezioni, Armani Exchange and Armani Jeans.[5]
History[edit]
Armani and his partner, architect Sergio Galeotti, founded Giorgio Armani SpA in 1975, reportedly on money from the sale of Armani's Volkswagen.[6]
Armani signed a license with Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (GFT) in 1978.[6] The company also entered into a manufacturing and distribution license with Simint in 1991 when the company launched A|X Armani Exchange.[7] By 1993, the Armani name was represented by 23 licensees and two large joint ventures in Japan.[8]
By the 1990s, the company's strategy was to cancel licenses and take production in-house in a bid to exert more control over quality and distribution.[7] Manufacturing arrangements later brought back in-house include the acquisition of Antinea (1990), Simint (1996) and Intai (1998).[6][9] In 2000, after buying factories from GFT, Armani formed a joint venture with Zegna for the production and distribution of the Collezioni men's collection. Armani also increased to 85 percent of its share in the joint venture in Japan with Itochu.[6]
In 2001, Armani commissioned architect Tadao Ando to transform an old Nestlé chocolate factory in Milan's Savona/Tortona area into the company's headquarters.[10]
Also in the early 2000s, Armani opened five megastores designed by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, starting with the opening of the Armani/Manzoni store in Milan in 2000, which carries all of the company's brands. Other such venues are in Hong Kong (Armani/Chater House, opened in 2002), Munich (Armani/Fünf Höfe, opened in 2003), Tokyo (Armani/Ginza Tower, opened in 2007) and New York City (Armani/Fifth Avenue, opened in 2009).[11]
In 2002, Armani announced a new joint venture with the shoe manufacturer I Guardi, as part of a strategy of bringing manufacturing under its control.[12] From 2003 until 2012, Safilo Group held the exclusive license for Armani-branded eyewear before losing it again to Luxottica[13][14][15] until 2037.[16] Beginning in 2007, the company teamed up with Samsung to develop a line of high-end electronic goods.[17][18][19]
In 2007, Giorgio Armani confirmed to Reuters that he had been approached by Beiersdorf in 2005 about a potential merger but had since been too distracted by other projects to pursue that option.[20] In 2016, he confirmed he had established the Giorgio Armani Foundation[21] which, while aiming to fund social projects, is also to "safeguard the governance assets of the Armani Group and ensure that these assets are kept stable over time."[22][23] By 2017, the company was seen as a prime candidate for a stock market listing.[24] In 2021, Giorgio Armani ruled out merging with either LVMH or Kering[25] and reportedly also ruled out an offer by Stellantis to acquire a minority stake.[26]
In February 2020, Armani was the first fashion brand to decide to close its runway shows to the public amid the beginning COVID-19 pandemic, holding the event without an audience.[27] By March 2020, all of its Italian production plants started producing single use medical overalls.[28]
In 2021, luxury yacht maker The Italian Sea Group announced that Giorgio Armani SpA would invest in the company's IPO at the Italian Bourse.[29]
Social Responsibility[edit]
In 2006, Emporio Armani became a partner of the global Product Red initiative, founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver to fight AIDS in Africa. In 2011, the Acqua For Life project was launched, in collaboration with Giorgio Armani Parfums, Green Cross International, and UNICEF: for every bottle of Acqua di Giò sold, $1 is donated, up to $50,000, to the UNICEF "UNICEF Tab Project", which aims to provide clean water to children in African countries. Finally, in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, an important collaboration with J/P HRO (Haitian Relief Organization) was launched.[121][122]
The Armani fashion house was one of the first to support international guidelines for a concept of sustainable fashion at the social and environmental level, starting to work on a production system that can protect the health of the planet, focusing on the production of garments that can be durable over time.[123] In this sense, the brand is committed to the responsible use of resources and the traceability of the process.[124][125]
In November 2019, when a violent flood submerged Venice, the Armani company, together with other fashion houses, supported the Italian city by contributing with initiatives and donations.
In 2020, Giorgio Armani was awarded the "Fashion Dresses Peace" award, a public recognition awarded to authoritative figures who have distinguished themselves for their commitment to inclusion or against discrimination and racism. The award ceremony, promoted by the African Fashion Gate social promotion association, takes place at the European Parliament in Brussels with its high patronage.[126][127][128]
In 2020, Giorgio Armani donated a total of €2,000,000 to several Italian hospitals (Luigi Sacco, San Raffaele and Institute of Oncology hospitals in Milan, Spallanzani in Rome, Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo, Guglielmo di Saliceto in Piacenza, Versilia in Lido di Camaiore) and to the Civil Protection to combat the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and converted its production facilities into facilities for the production of disposable gowns.[129][130][131]
Sponsoring and philanthropy[edit]
In 2015, Armani opened Armani/Silos, an exhibition space in Milan which has in the past which staged solo exhibitions of Larry Fink (2017), Sarah Moon (2018), Paolo Ventura (2018),[132] Tadao Ando (2019) and Peter Lindbergh (2020).[133]
Armani Beauty has been a major supporter of the Venice Film Festival since 2018 and was the event's main sponsor in 2019.[134]
Also in 2019, A|X Armani Exchange became the first fashion brand to debut in the world of e-sports — professional multiplayer video game competitions — when it sponsored the Italian team Mkers for the 2019–20 season.[135]
Among others, Armani designed suits for Italy's delegations to the 2009 FINA World Aquatics Championships[136] and the 2012 Summer Olympics[137] as well as for the country's national football team at the UEFA Euro 2020.[138] Since 2021, the company has been a sponsor of the Scuderia Ferrari, supplying formal attire and travel wear to the Ferrari team's management, drivers and technicians to be worn at official events and during transfers linked to Formula One's Grand Prix international races.[139] The company also makes kits for Serie A football side Napoli under its EA7 brand.[140] In the basket side, is the title sponsor and kit supplier of Olimpia Milano and from the 2023 -2024 season also became the official kit supplier of Blu Basket 1971.
At the ATP Tour circuit, Armani dressed so many professional players like Simone Bolelli, Fabio Fognini and Lorenzo Sonego.
Sustainability[edit]
Armani banned animal fur in 2016 and signed in 2019 the "Fashion Pact" with other major industry players to address climate change. In 2021, the Group enhanced its Sustainability Department by employing a Group Director and launching a new sustainability strategy based on the three pillars "People, Planet, Prosperity". The Group has defined concrete objectives within the company and along the entire value chain, in line with the ESG approach (Environmental, Social, Governance) and with the objectives of the Fashion Pact joined in 2019. They have launched sustainable capsules with yarns and fabrics made of materials such as recycled polyester and organic cotton.[141] Moreover, they communicated their commitment to no longer using angora wool starting from the 2022-23 Autumn/Winter season.[142]
Controversy[edit]
In 1999, the New York Times and others raised concerns about a generous donation made by Giorgio Armani SpA to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York shortly before the museum announced that it would pay homage to Armani himself with a major retrospective of his work.[143]
In a 2014 report, Greenpeace publicly criticized Armani and other luxury brands after having found traces of chemicals that can pollute waterways in children's clothing and shoes; in response, the company committed to abolishing all chemicals which could cause environmental damage to production sites by 2020.[144] Also in 2014, Giorgio Armani SpA paid 270 million euros to Italian tax authorities to settle a dispute over payments from the group's subsidiaries abroad.[145]
In 2015, Giorgio Armani Corp's former general counsel Fabio Silva filed a $75 million lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against the company, accusing it of discriminating against him because of his Mexican origins and firing him for having cancer.[146][147]