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Italian designer of haute couture who established his own menswear line in 1974 and a line for women in 1975. His understated and elegant designs are noted for their precision cut and relaxed fit. The Armani label now appears on a wide variety of items, including lingerie, perfume, shoes, and sunglasses. Born in the small town of Piacenza, Italy in 1934, Giorgio Armani grew up entranced by the cinema. He studied medicine but gave it up because he could not stand the sight of blood. Later, he obtained a window dresser position at La Rinascente department store in Milan. After working at the store for a few years, he moved to Nino Cerruti to become the menswear designer. It is there that Armani began to understand the importance of fabric and to form his signature style.

In 1970, Armani left Cerruti to become a freelance stylist. Four years later, Armani and his companion Sergio Galeotti formed Giorgio Armani SPA with $10,000 from the sale of their Volkswagen. His designs were elegant and revolutionary. He is credited with redesigning the men's suit jacket, removing the stiffness from it and rendering jackets in materials that flowed sensually yet retained their masculinity. Realizing that there was only a limited amount of people that could afford his top-of-the-line creations, he and Galeotti created Emporio Armani in 1981. One of the first bridge lines, the Emporio Armani line and stores are focused on a younger, trendier customer. He also designs the Le Collezioni line (commonly referred to as the White Label) that is aimed at a more conservative customer. In 1991, sensing a shift towards dressing down, Armani launched A|X Armani Exchange stores that carried the Armani Jeans line. All of his clothing lines are aimed at creating a look that stresses comfort and emphasizes the elegance of the uncomplicated. Giorgio Armani fashion apparel and fragrances are available at Neiman Marcus, Sak's Fifth Avenue and other fine dept. stores, as well as Armani Boutiques worldwide.

The Past and the Present

He attended medical school for two years, dabbled in photography, fulfilled his military obligations in 1957, then worked in a prestigious department store, La Rinascente, as a window dresser. He joined Nino Cerruti as a designer from 1961 to 1970. Armani began a free-lance design business in 1970 with the encouragement of his close friend Sergio Galeotti, and established his own men's wear label in 1974. He gradually adapted his designs for women and added a women's wear line in 1975, in partnership with Galeotti (who passed away in 1985). His sister Rosanna Armani teamed up with Armani as head of communication activities of the company . Armani, whose relaxed designs for women are inspired by men's wear, also uses men's wear fabrics in his sophisticated, unstructured jackets and suits for women. With this approach, Armani has established a new standard of understated elegance: easy-fit garments for women, precisely cut and beautifully tailored. He is known as a workaholic, who can sometimes be rude and arrogant. His dislike of fellow Italian designers Gianni Versace and Valentino has recently been supressed for the benefit of the international press. In May, 1996, Armani was convicted of corruption in Italy, among other fellow designers like Ferré.  Armani has homes in Broni, Forte dei Marmi, and Pantelleria (Italy), and in St. Tropez (French Riviera). Among the Armani accessories, the eye-wear collection appears to enjoy continuous success. The Armani glasses are produced since 1988 by the Italian designer eye-wear specialist Luxottica and exclusively sold in eye-wear speciality stores and Armani boutiques.

Giorgio Armani  brought a new concept to women's dressing, and has had the most influence on fashion since Christian Dior's "New Look" and Mary Quant's mini skirt. As more and more women established themselves in the work force on an executive level they were looking for an alternive kind of power dressing to the drab dark-grey-suit-blouse-with-floppy-tie look. Armani, who used menswear fabrics in highly refined and sophisticated versions for his de-structured suits for women, was warmly embraced by legions of women who guaranteed his success. Today the head of a multi-million dollar business, Armani built his career step by careful step. A serious northerner from Piacenza, Armani's classic good looks and marble-blue eyes no doubt helped along the way, but hard work and tenacity brought him to his current position. Armani, who used menswear fabrics in highly refined and sophisticated versions for his de-structured suits for women, was warmly embraced by legions of women who guaranteed his success. Today the head of a multi-million dollar business, Armani built his career step by careful step. A serious northerner from Piacenza, Armani's classic good looks and marble-blue eyes no doubt helped along the way, but hard work and tenacity brought him to his current position. He began studies as a doctor, following the Italian maxim of a doctor and a lawyer in every family but soon found out that medicine was not for him. After doing his obligatory military service in 1957 he went to work for Italy's leading department store La Rinascente, and found himself dressing windows and helping buyers. In 1964 Armani went to work for Nino Cerrutti, an important Italian textile manufacturer who also produced lines of clothing for men and women. Armani designed the Hitman line for men. Working with a wide array of the finest textiles and learning the techniques of the business was fundamental for Armani's future success, as one distinguishing feature of his lines for men and women in the meticulous selection of fabrics used. In 1970 Armani, encouraged by the enthusiasm of close friend Sergio Galeotti, set up a free-lance design studio. He was very successful, designing for such manufacturers as Boulevard, Montedoro, Sicons, and Gibo. In 1974 the first Giorgio Armani menswear collection was presented, and by 1975 he had put aside enough money to launch, in partnership with Galleotti, the first women's line. His jackets were an instant hit, and although some skeptics wondered what he would do for an encore, he steadily developed the Armani Look to include a highly original concept of evening dressing, which can be admired on television every year during the Academy Awards where many of the biggest stars, male and female, dress Armani, including Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer. Armani is very sensitive to the desires of his clients, and has said that although there are times when he would like to exercise his fantasy, he finds in the end that he sticks with the "Armani style". Although a workaholic, Armani does like to relax once in a while, in one of his homes in Broni, San Tropez, Forte dei Marmi, and Pantelleria. Armani is one of the most celebrated and influential designers Italy has produced. However, it was only by chance that in 1964 he broke into the fashion industry at the age of 30, launching his career as a buyer at a large Milanese department store, after brief forays into medicine and photography. Seven years later, armed with an in-depth knowledge of fabric and design, he was made a designer for Nino Cerruti’s men’s clothing company Hitman. Posts at Ungaro and Zegna were soon to follow. In 1974, Armani introduced his own menswear label, his first womenswear collection coming a year later. Since 1975 he has overseen the launch of Giorgio Armani Junior, Underwear, Swimwear, Accessories and Occhiali. Capitalising on the cachet of his more exclusive label, he opened the first of a series of stores selling cheaper diffusion lines in 1981. The Armani empire today comprises some 2,000 Emporia world-wide with annual sales of more than $1 billion (£600 million). Even so, when he tried to take his Emporio Armani show to the Paris Collections in March 1998, local police closed down his black marquee over Place Saint Sulpice, claiming that the set-up was "unsafe". He showed the collection in New York the following month to a far more high-profile crowd, including Robert de Niro, Spike Lee, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Scorcese, Sophia Loren and Wyclef Jean of The Fugees. Armani claims to base his vision on the everyday woman in the street, believing that clothes should be made to be worn. His collections are elegant and understated - the designer has often expressed a dislike of "important" clothes - and they are easily recognisable by the sometimes over-prominent eagle logo.

Giorgio Armani's new collection is a study in minimalism with respect to shape, form and content, with the unmistakable Armani 'look'. The collection includes titanium, metal and plastic models - all with unique treatments. This collection's colors reflect in various ways from the frames and provide a feeling of calmness, relaxation and serenity. Giorgio Armani.
The designer keeps on reworking his classics, but it's time to move on. Draped velvet trouser suits, wide silk pants, and working girl trouser suits just aren't fashion anymore. In a season where eccentricity prevails and ostentation rules, Armani's style looks bland. There were the odd printed, sequined separates and some beautifully beaded crystal floral skirts and vests that the glitterati might wear for a night out. Armani himself made a surprise appearance, dressed in black and levitated on a plinth six feet above the catwalk. A touch of mischief might not have been a bad thing for the clothes, too Giorgio Armani's new collection is a study in minimalism with respect to shape, form and content, with the unmistakable Armani 'look'. The collection includes titanium, metal and plastic models - all with unique treatments. This collection's colors reflect in various ways from the frames and provide a feeling of calmness, relaxation and serenity. Giorgio Armani  brought a new concept to women's dressing, and has had the most influence on fashion since Christian Dior's "New Look" and Mary Quant's mini skirt. As more and more women established themselves in the work force on an executive level they were looking for an alternive kind of power dressing to the drab dark-grey-suit-blouse-with-floppy-tie look. Armani, who used menswear fabrics in highly refined and sophisticated versions for his de-structured suits for women, was warmly embraced by legions of women who guaranteed his success. Today the head of a multi-million dollar business, Armani built his career step by careful step. A serious northerner from Piacenza, Armani's classic good looks and marble-blue eyes no doubt helped along the way, but hard work and tenacity brought him to his current position. His jackets were an instant hit, and although some skeptics wondered what he would do for an encore, he steadily developed the Armani Look to include a highly original concept of evening dressing, which can be admired on television every year during the Academy Awards where many of the biggest stars, male and female, dress Armani, including Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer. Armani is very sensitive to the desires of his clients, and has said that although there are times when he would like to exercise his fantasy, he finds in the end that he sticks with the "Armani style". Although a workaholic, Armani does like to relax once in a while, in one of his homes in Broni, San Tropez, Forte dei Marmi, and Pantelleria.      Giorgio Armani has also revolutionized eyewear, essentially inventing the very concept of designer eyewear. Armani creates eyewear the same way he creates clothing, emphasizing quality and attention to detail. Giorgio Armani Occhiali stands not only for ultimate style, but for the Highest Technical Standards of manufacture and performance.

Giorgio Armani sunglasses are manufactured by the Luxottica Group, the world¡¯s largest manufacturer of fine prescription eyewear. Giorgio Armani crystal sunglass lenses are made of the purest glass and offer distortion free vision. Giorgio Armani resin lenses offer superior lightness and impact resistance. All Giorgio Armani sunglass lenses offer 100% UV protection. 

Giorgio Armani, probably the most influential designer of our time, is well known for his innovations in clothing for men and women that transformed the way we dress. He revolutionized tailored clothing, softening structure for men, dispensing with padding and creating clothing that is as comfortable and versatile as it is elegant. Giorgio Armani revolutionized women¡¯s clothing with trousers and suits. Giorgio Armani continues to epitomize modern dressing and modern living, reflecting always his esthetic of luxury, comfort and understatement.

Giorgio armani eyeglasses. 

Giorgio Armani is the pentacle of prestige. Giorgio Armani eye glasses consists of a kaleidoscope of styles among which you will easily find your perfect match, naturally and with class. All giorgio armani eye glasses are created through an ever-renewing design. Giorgio Armani eye glasses remain true to their radical quest for pure lines and offer an unmistakable touches of elegance based on the ethical concept of a comfortable, unexceptionable luxury. When your life demands Giorgio Armani eyeglasses, turn to the true source for savings.

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