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Armani

Armani

Tagline

It speaks for you

Net Worth

$8,040,000,000

Started in (City)

Milan

Started in (Country)

Italy

Incorporation Date

24th December, 1975

Bankruptcy Date

-

Founders

  • Giorgio Armani

About

Giorgio Armani S.p.A. commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, eyewear, cosmetics, and home interiors. The products of this brand are being marketed under several labels such as Giorgio Armani Privé, Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani (including EA7), Armani Jeans, Armani Junior, and Armani Exchange. The brand utilizes the association of the Armani name with high-fashion, benefiting from its prestige in the fashion industry. In 2017, Giorgio Armani announced that his company will close two of its fashion labels, Armani Collezioni and Armani Jeans, as part of the restructuring process for his company. While Armani Collezioni will merge back into the "Giorgio Armani" line, Armani Jeans will be mixed with the Emporio Armani line due to their similarities in styles and the use of the same brand logo.

Beginning

Armani established an innovative relationship with the fashion industry, characterized by the 1978 agreement with Gruppo Finanzario Tessile (GFT), which made it possible to produce luxury ready-to-wear in a manufacturing environment under the attentive supervision of the company's designer. In 1979, after founding the Giorgio Armani Corporation, Armani began producing for the United States and introduced the Mainline for men and women. The label became one of the leading names in international fashion with the introduction of several new product lines, including G. A. Le Collezioni, Giorgio Armani Underwear and Swimwear, and Giorgio Armani Accessories. In the early 1980s, the company signed an important agreement with L'Oréal to create perfumes and introduced the Armani Junior, Armani Jeans, and Emporio Armani lines, followed in 1982 by the introduction of Emporio Underwear, Swimwear, and Accessories. A new store was opened in Milan for the Emporio line, followed by the first Giorgio Armani boutique. Armani's concern for the end-user culminated in the development of a more youthful product with the same level of stylistic quality as his high-end line, but at a more accessible price.

Road to Success

Because of the democratic nature of the Emporio line, Armani felt that he had to make use of new and unconventional advertising methods. These included television spots and enormous street ads, together with a house magazine that was sent out by mail to consumers, faithful Armani Eagle wearers. Armani also felt that a relationship with the cinema was essential, both for promotional reasons and for the stimulus to creativity. He designed the costumes for American Gigolo (1980), the success of which led to a long-term collaboration with the world of film. Armani designed costumes for more than one hundred films, one of the most important of which was The Untouchables (1987). In 1983 the designer modified his agreement with GFT. They began to produce both the Mani line for the United States and his high-end ready-to-wear line, rechristened Borgonuovo 21, after the address of the company's headquarters. During the late 1980s, despite Galeotti's death in 1985, Armani continued to expand commercial horizons and licensing agreements. He opened Armani Japan and introduced a line of eyeglasses (1988), socks (1987), a gift collection (1989), and a new "basic" men's and women's line for America known as A/X Armani Exchange (1991). After the frenetic expansion of the 1990s (sportswear, watches, eyeglasses, cosmetics, home, and new accessories collections), 2000, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the brand, saw a flurry of investment activity, including stock sales and the acquisition of new manufacturing capacity intended to increase Armani's control over the quality and distribution of his products. Armani's men's and women's skiwear and ski casualwear line was developed in 1995. His 1991 project, A/X: Armani Exchange, represented Armani's attempt to break into the American mass market, offering lower prices for relaxed chic clothes.

Challenges

After his stint in the armed forces, Armani found a job as a window dresser at La Rinascente, a department store in Milan in 1957. He went on to become a seller for the menswear department, in which capacity he gained valuable experience in the marketing aspect of the fashion industry. In the mid-1960s, Armani moved to the Nino Cerruti company, where he designed menswear. His skills were in demand, and for the next decade, while continuing to work for Cerutti, Armani also freelanced, contributing designs to as many as ten manufacturers at a time. In the late 1960s, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, an architectural draftsman, which marked the beginning of a personal and professional relationship that lasted for many years. In 1973, Galeotti persuaded him to open a design office in Milan, at 37 Corso Venezia. This led to a period of extensive collaboration, during which Armani worked as a freelance designer for a number of fashion houses, including Allegri, Bagutta, Hilton, Sicons, Gibò, Montedoro, and Tendresse. The international press was quick to acknowledge Armani's importance following the runway shows at the Sala Bianca in the Pitti Palace in Florence. The experience provided Armani with an opportunity to develop his own style in new ways. He was now ready to devote his energy to his own label, and on July 24, 1975, he founded Giorgio Armani S.p.A. in Milan, with his friend Galeotti. In October of that same year, he presented his first collection of men's ready-to-wear for Spring and Summer 1976 under his own name. He also produced a women's line for the same season.

Failures

Giorgio Armani never dealt with a failure in the entire career. Giorgio Armani is a high-end label specializing in men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, accessories, glasses, cosmetics, and perfumes. It is available only in Giorgio Armani boutiques, specialty clothiers, and select high-end department stores. The logo is a curved "G" completing a curved "A", forming a circle. In 2016, the fashion house stopped using animal fur in all of its collections, citing the availability of "valid alternatives at our disposition that render the use of cruel practices unnecessary as regards animals.” According to The Wall Street Journal and other influential sources, in addition to couture line Armani Privé, Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani are the company’s ready-to-wear lines that show at Milan fashion week. In addition, selling at lower prices are Armani Collezioni, Armani Exchange, and Armani Jeans.

Achievements

  • David di Donatello Golden Plate Award
  • CFDA Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti International Award
  • Bambi - Creativity

Subsidies

  • Giorgio Armani
  • Emporio Armani
  • Armani Collezioni
  • Armani Exchange
  • Armani Junior
  • Armani/Casa
  • Armani/Dolci
  • Armani/Fiori
  • Armani/Hotels

CEOs

  • Giorgio Armani