Giorgio Armani S.P.A. is an international
Italian fashion house that designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails
haute couture,
ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, eyewear, cosmetics, and home interiors. The brand markets these products under several, highly-specialized sub-labels including
Giorgio Armani,
Armani Collezioni,
Emporio Armani,
Armani Jeans,
AX | Armani Exchange,
Armani Junior, and
Armani/Casa. The Armani name has become synonymous with high-fashion and couture worldwide and is considered one of the most prestigious names in the fashion industry. End of year sales for 2005 were $1.69 billion.
Armani is planning in collaboration with
Emaar Properties a chain of luxury
hotels and
resorts in several big cities including
Milan,
Paris,
New York,
London,
Tokyo,
Shanghai and
Dubai. The company already operates a range of cafés worldwide, in addition to a bar, restaurant, and nightclub.
History
Giorgio Armani and Sergio Galeotti founded the company in Milan in 1975 with capital of $10,000. Today, Armani employs about 4,700 employees and has 13 factories worldwide. It has nearly 300 stores in 36 countries. Recently, the house has begun a
haute couture operation, showing in Paris during the Haute Couture fashion week, under the name
Armani Privé.
While many of today's fashion brands are held under large multi-national conglomerates such as
LVMH and
PPR, the Armani brand is privately held by
Giorgio Armani.
Lines
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani is a high-end label specializing in men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, eyewear, cosmetics, and perfumes. It is one of the most expensive clothing labels in the world and is available only in select high-end department stores.
Armani Collezioni
Armani Collezioni (formerly
Giorgio Armani Le Collezioni) is another high-end Armani sub-label. The line is more expensive than the
Armani Exchange,
Armani Jeans, and
Emporio Armani lines, but less expensive than the high-end, ready-to-wear line,
Giorgio Armani and the haute couture line,
Armani Privé. In addition to being sold in freestanding boutiques (which feature the
Collezioni line exclusively),
Armani Collezioni is sold in high-end department stores including
Bloomingdale's,
David Jones,
Harvey Nichols,
Harrods,
Neiman Marcus, and
Saks Fifth Avenue.
Emporio Armani
thumb|Emporio Armani store, Tokyo.
Emporio Armani is an upscale label designed for young adults in their 20's and 30's. The label features ready-to-wear and accessories.
Emporio Armani is available in its 13 stores in the U.S. and over 140 worldwide, and on the brand's website.
Armani Jeans
Armani Jeans is a bridge-line collection of denim-related clothing created in 1981 by Giorgio Armani.
Armani Jeans is mainly sold in department stores, although there are 15 freestanding
Armani Jeans stores in the world, in addition to an
Armani Jeans Cafe in Milan. Some Armani Jeans items are sold in Emporio Armani Stores, and Armani Jeans stores sell Emporio Armani items in the Asian Market.
In terms of design, the clothing from this line does not feature Giorgio Armani's signature simplicity and often has larger logos than the clothing in any of his other collections. The colors used for
Armani Jeans are more diverse than those found in his higher end lines or
Armani Exchange, which feature monochromatic color schemes and focus on cut and material over color.
Armani Exchange
thumb|Armani ExchangeArmani Exchange (shortened to
A|X) was launched in 1991 in the U.S. and is one of the leading fashion brands in the world today. It is the youthful label created by Giorgio Armani and is known for its provocative ad campaigns.
Armani Exchange designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails fashion and lifestyle products, including apparel, accessories, eyewear, watches, jewelry, and music. It is inspired by street-chic culture and fashionable dance music. Although considered the most accessible Armani brand,
Armani Exchange is considered moderately priced in the general market, with the majority of products priced near or over $100 each.
The label is popular among young Hollywood's trend-setting elite including
Alessandra Ambrosio,
Sophia Bush,
Chace Crawford,
Selena Gomez,
Paris Hilton,
Minka Kelly,
Lindsay Lohan,
Kellan Lutz,
Eva Longoria,
AnnaLynne McCord,
Alex Meraz,
Nicole Richie,
Mark Salling, and
Estella Warren.
Armani Exchange products are available exclusively in 140 stores worldwide and on the brand's website.
Armani Junior
Armani's children's label, Armani Junior is available in 15 boutiques worldwide and select
Neiman Marcus and
Saks Fifth Avenue department stores.
Armani/Casa
Armani/Casa ("Armani Home" in Italian) is a high-end home collection by Armani featuring furniture, lamps, linens, and dining essentials. Armani/Casa is available at 40 worldwide boutiques and select
Neiman Marcus stores.
Other ventures
Armani Privé
Armani's haute couture line made history being the first haute couture Paris fashion show to be streamed live online. The label is strictly made to wear and only available for purchase in selected stores such as
Harrods at a high price.
Armani Cosmetics
The beauty brand by Armani features cosmetics, skin care, perfumes, and colognes. It is produced and distributed by the luxury division of
L'Oreal, with which Armani has a long-term partnership agreement. It is available at many department stores worldwide and has very few boutiques.
Armani also invests in the fine dining industry. Throughout the world, he has 14 Emporio Armani and Armani Jeans cafes. There is also an Armani Bar in Hong Kong and his two new restaurants, NoBu & Prive, are found worldwide. He also has a bookshop (Armani Libri) and a florist (Armani Fiori) under the Armani name and a confectionery company known as Armani Dolci. These smaller brands are mostly sold within larger Armani shops, like the Milan flagship, 31 via Manzoni, and at the Armani/Chater House at 11 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong. He also did 4 lucky Cds "Emporio Armani Caffè" with the famous Italian sound designer Matteo Ceccarini.
Armani Hotels
Armani and
Emaar Properties signed an agreement in 2004 for Emaar Hotels to build and operate at least seven luxury hotels and three vacation resorts under the Armani name. Armani would be responsible for overseeing all aspects the interior design and style of the hotels. One of their famous hotels is located in Dubai.
The bottom 37 floors of the
Burj Dubai skyscraper in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates, will house the world's first Armani Hotel. Giorgio Armani is also designing the interiors of the 160 Armani Residences, also within the skyscraper, and its specially designed line of products from the Armani/Casa home furnishings collection.
The
Burj Dubai Armani Residences Road Show toured Milan, London, Jeddah, Moscow and Delhi. The exhibition was designed by
Brash Brands winning an International Design Award for its Signs, Exhibits and
Point of Purchase (POP) Displays. The London event was housed in the Armani Casa Showroom in New Bond Street.
Fur controversy
In July 2007, Giorgio Armani told Time Magazine that viewing
PETA materials “convinced me not to use fur." However, according to PETA, Armani’s Fall 2008 collection included fur coats for babies, floral printed furs, fur-hemmed skirts and fur-trimmed jackets. The
animal rights group has contacted celebrities such as
Tom Cruise,
Katie Holmes and
Glenn Close asking that they not wear Armani-designed clothes.
See also
