Remembering iconic designer Giorgio Armani and his lasting impact on fashion

Transcript

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Geoff Bennett: The world of fashion has lost one of its greats. Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91. He’s credited with elevating a quintessentially Italian aesthetic in his clothes and making red carpet affairs cultural moments.

Joining us now is Robin Givhan, Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic and former senior critic at large at The Washington Post, where she worked for more than 20 years. She’s the author of “Make It Ours: Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh.”

It’s great to see you again.

Robin Givhan, Fashion Critic: Nice to be here.

Geoff Bennett: So let’s talk about Armani. He really defined the look of understated elegance. How did his minimalist approach redefine luxury fashion?

Robin Givhan: Well, I don’t think we would have the vocabulary to really talk about what we now call quiet luxury without Armani.

And what he really did was apply this — his sensibility for very streamlined, minimalist, neutral palette to both men’s wear and to women’s, but first with the men’s, where he really made an impact, where he just kind of took the stuffing, like literally and figuratively, out of men’s suiting. He took out the sort of the inner structure and allowed the suit jackets to have this kind of ease and flow over the body.

And it really started to kind of epitomize an era of self-made men and wealthy men. And then, when those clothes appeared in “American Gigolo,” like, it was everything that — the jig was up.

Geoff Bennett: Yes.

How did he reshape Hollywood’s red carpet culture?

Robin Givhan: You know, I think it’s kind of hard for people to believe that there was a point where the stars would show up pretty much left to their own devices.

You know, in the very early days of the Oscar red carpet, most of the celebrities were sort of dressed by the costumers from the studios. And then they were kind of left to their own devices, and there were some pretty outrageous moments. And then Armani hired a woman named Wanda McDaniel, who came in and sort of created almost a system.

And Armani started dressing a lot of the celebrities, who really, I think, felt indebted to him for doing it, because it allowed them to get a bit of support when they’re out there on the red carpet being photographed. And he dressed them in his sensibility. So it was all about sort of the classic tuxedo and elegant evening gowns, not a ton of skin, not a lot of sheer, but very much the Armani aesthetic.

Geoff Bennett: At a time when so many fashion houses have been absorbed by conglomerates, Armani was still a privately — is still a privately held brand. What was it about Armani the man who refused to sell?

Robin Givhan: He loved his brand. He loved working. He loved being able to control the aesthetics of it down to every detail. I mean, there definitely was a period when he considered selling. I mean, he doesn’t have children.

And he considered selling to the large French conglomerate LVMH. And sort of at the last minute he decided that he couldn’t do it, because he really wanted to maintain the authority over sort of the destiny of the company. And it was a really attractive company to purchase, because unlike a lot of the big fashion houses that make most of their money through accessories, shoes, handbags, fragrances all of those things, Armani was really a fashion house that sold clothing.

And as odd as it sounds, like, that’s pretty rare.

Geoff Bennett: Is that why Armani the brand has endured in this moment of fast fashion?

Robin Givhan: I think that has something to do with it, but I also think it’s because the brand had such a clear and distinct vision, that it really represented the singular point of view of one person.

That, of course, is also unusual in fashion in many ways because so many houses have gone through many, many designers who try to take the so-called brand DNA and bring it to a younger and younger audience. Armani ushered this brand from its beginnings until his death.

And so it was very distinct. And it also broke out of fashion to have a place in popular culture. And the other thing, I think, is, it didn’t just resonate with the 1 percent. If you shop at Uniqlo, if you shop at COS, if you shop at any of those sort of mass market brands that traffic in sort of elevated basics, you owe a debt to Armani.

Geoff Bennett: Robin Givhan, always a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks for being here.

Robin Givhan: My pleasure.