Clever, elegant, and cautious, Giorgio Armani arranged for the muse-turned-activist to meet his architect. Three years later, on Boulevard Saint-Germain, he unveiled his Armani Casa boutique, offering Japanese lanterns in Murano glass, boxes covered in shagreen, furniture in iroko wood, or upholstered in parchment. His businesses are still there, and the Michelin-starred restaurant bearing his name is today one of the best Italian restaurants in Paris.
It has to be said that the couturier-entrepreneur, the first to launch into the lifestyle spaces that all his competitors eventually emulated, sensed the moods of the city since he first got to know it.
“In the 1970s and early 1980s, haute couture was in decline,” he said. “Those of us who worked in ready-to-wear were resolutely opposed to it. But I remember some breathtaking Saint Laurent shows that left a lasting impression on me, and the wonders that Karl Lagerfeld did at Chanel. And, although far removed from my own aesthetic, I admired the talent and creativity of Christian Lacroix at Patou. It’s thanks to these designers that haute couture has regained its place,” he told us at the time. And when he himself launched himself into this highly codified and magical discipline at the dawn of the new millennium, it was of course in Paris that he decided to show his work.
He swore: “I didn’t decide to go into haute couture on a whim. I had an established, demanding clientele, and many women were asking me for more exclusive, personalized pieces. The next logical step was to create a collection.”
Paris opened its arms to him, though the relationship between Armani and the city had its occasional friction over half a century, such as the 1998 fashion show at Place Saint-Sulpice, to which the 1,500 guests were denied access for “security reasons.” La Reppublica thundered “Paris ‘expels’ Italy,” and Le Monde wrote of “the affront to Giorgio Armani.” The couturier took his revenge in a series of interview in the media, but it did nothing, in the end, to dent his love affair with the capital, where his couture is showcased in the most important addresses on both shores. “I’ve had the privilege of exhibiting my creations in exceptional places, from the Italian Embassy to the Petit Palais.”
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