Back in September my colleague Deirdre Woollard reported that the largest Giorgio Armani boutique in the world was opening in the designer's hometown of Milan. Now Armani has begun construction on a hotel there as well, located in an historic building designed by architect Enrico A. Griffini in 1937 that also houses an Armani store. "I feel a very special involvement in the project for the Armani Hotel Milano as it is located here, in my hometown," Armani tellsVogue UK.
"Every aspect of the hotel is a reflection of my aesthetic philosophy, and its position, above the Manzoni 31 concept store, will offer my guests the chance to experience a complete Armani lifestyle. I believe the hotel's design will perfectly fit the spirit of Milan as a capital of style, whilst offering a new experience of hospitality within its fashion district." The world's first Armani hotel is slated for Dubai, and plans are also underway for a London branch.
David Beckham's huge semi-nude advertisements for Emporio Armani underwear caused whole crowds to swoon. Now his wife is getting in on the act. Victoria Beckham will pose in just her Emporio Armani Women's underwear for the brand's Spring/Summer 2009 campaign being shot by photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. In a press release Armani said of Mrs. Beckham, "Victoria is a style icon, a dynamic lady whose influence and recognition will add great excitement to the continued international growth of our Emporio Armani women's underwear business." She is certainly stylish, but I'd have preferred a woman with a little more curve to create the same kind of ooh-la-la reaction that David Beckham's ads got.
Armani and Samsung have released their latest joint effort cell phone. The Samsung Armani 2 Night Effect gets its name from the wraparound LED light on the phone. The candybar-style phone has a 3.2 megapixel camera, FM radio, 120MB of memory that is expandable with microSD, and Bluetooth. It will be sold in Europe in November with sales in Southeast Asia and the Middle East to follow. It will sell for around 300 euros. Tech pundits don't seem to be loving this one, finding the Armani logo on the back a bit garish and the overall look to be a bit clunky.
It's a good time to go shopping in Milan, Italy. Not only did Tom Ford open a store over the summer but Via Montenapoleone is now home to the biggest Giorgio Armani boutique in the world. The new store is in the Palazzo Taverna the historic home of Milanese poet Carlo Porta.
Sfilate gives us a peek inside Armani's new domain. The store is over 21,000 square feet and has three floors. The ground floor houses accessories and clothing for women, Giorgio Armani Privé fragrances and Crema Nera and Skin Minerals skincare products. Armani Casa objects have been designed exclusively for the store and will only be sold in this location.
The first floor is the men's emporium featuring clothing and accessories with special spaces reserve for the Classic Giorgio Armani and Made to Measure lines. The second floor is devoted to evening wear and accessories for women and luxury goods including Giorgio Armani Privé precious jewels and Giorgio Armani Borgo 21 watches. The store is done up in sleek black lacquer and dove gray fabric. The post on Sfilate has a few pictures which show small racks of clothing dramtically placed against pale backdrops surrounded by black.
Armani's next design project has been revealed. Emaar Properties is working with Armani S.p.A to create beachfront residences in Marassi, Emaar's flagship resort development in Egypt on the Sidi Abdel Rahman Bay. Marassi is a gated community which will include a beach resort, town center, marina, golf course and hotels.
This will be the first villa offering under the Armani Residences collaboration (Armani's first residences project is at the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building).The residences will include stacked villas and three- and four-bedroom villas facing the Mediterranean. Each unit will have a private pool and common amenities include a boardwalk lounge, health club, resort club, screening room, and public books. The furnishing and bespoke finishes will be designed by Armani and the homes will feature an exclusive range of Armani/Casa home furnishings.
Julia Roberts has created a new T-shirt for (Product) Red that is pricier than the Gap versions. Roberts has teamed up with Giorgio Armani to produce a new T-shirt for men and women. The tree of life design mimics the design of the bracelet Roberts created for the December launch of the Emporio Armani (Product) Red leather bracelet. The T-shirts are made in Africa and 40 percent of the gross profit margin goes to The Global Fund for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs in Africa. The Emporio Armani online-store sells the T-shirt in red, black and gray for $125 each. The bracelet is $175 for the women's version and $195 for the men's version.
The traditional "suit of lights" that bullfighter's wear will this time appear in Armani's signature shade of greyish beige and will feature sequins, crystals, and silver thread embroidery.
An interesting note: Rivera apparently comes from a long line of bullfighters and his grandfather, Antonio Ordonez, had a suit designed for the same event about 50 years ago by Pablo Picasso.
American men have been able to buy Armani undies since this past January and now women will soon be able to also: Armani has finally put together a line of women's intimates apparel for the United States. Launched today, the new line is divided into 4 subcategories (Gardenia, Tulipano, Camelia, and Lila) and is aimed to "satisfy the specific needs of the American woman" by addressing comfort, fit, quality, functionality, and (of course) great design. Look for the new line at the Georgio Armani showrooms in New York and expect prices to start somewhere between $12-$50.
Well I think I've figured out why Giorgio Armani is always smiling, it's not just to show off his large white teeth in his perfectly tanned face. Vogue UK reports that Armani's company released its annual report yesterday. Armani had a net profit rise of 66.2 per cent last year to $299.6 million, compared with $164.6 million last year. Giorgio Armani himself is the sole owner of his label and so he is enjoying the profit rise personally. According to WWD, the report revealed that among the firm's investments was a heftly $18.3 million which went for a new 213-foot yacht for Armani to help him keep that famous tan.
Swiss designer Albert "I cannot work with cheap fabric" Kriemler has gradually built his family-owned brand, Akris, into a luxury power seller. Now serious competition for longstanding luxury brands Armani and Chanel, Akris often outsells both in that elusive upper echelon of fashion. But you won't see the brand on many a young starlet. Akris is not for the trendy, despite a criticized attempt to change things up for the Spring 08 collection. Favored by women looking to be taken seriously -- Condoleeza Rice is a fan, as is Diane Sawyer -- Akris focuses on quality and timelessness, with the seasonless, highly packable fabric to prove it. Yet highly packable translates to highly priced: a cashmere/silk jersey dress is in the $3-4000 range. Check out selections from Fall at Bergdorf's and also at Neiman's. Then browse the gallery to see some evening pieces, and all those gorgeously cut pants. To see some new shapes and a few perfectly draped dresses, check out the Akris resort collection on Style.com, which isn't out quite yet.
Gallery: Akris Outfits High-Powered Women At High Prices
Giorgio Armani is now making pens and it seems fitting in today's world of computers, internet, and email, since true luxury and designer style can often be found in something as simple as a handwritten note. The Regal Collection, released this month, is the first series of writing instruments from Armani (in collaboration with Tibaldi) and will be available in ballpoint, rollerball, and fountain pen styles. Each pen is limited to 199 pieces and features the initials "GA" on the cap and a rhodium-and-ruthenium-plated solid 18-karat gold nib. The barrels are hand-turned to create individual and unique rippled patterns on each pen, which are then covered by nine layers of translucent enamel and embellished with a choice of either natural or ruthenium plated sterling silver trim. $3,114
Giorgio Armani Pens are available now at Giorgio Armani boutiques and Tibaldi stores worldwide.
Bruce Wayne is getting classed up in more ways than one this year, first with a Lamborghini to drive and now with Armani to wear in the latest Batman installment due out this summer: The Dark Knight. Armani's tailored, classic, understated style certainly fits the Bruce Wayne character both in personality and lifestyle, and I for one can't wait to see Christian Bale showing off his new designer duds in the movie. On dressing a superhereo Armani says it's "fitting that I should be dressing a superhero this year, as I am pleased to have chaired the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition, Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, last May,"
The deliciously, luxuriously beige style of Armani/Casa has a new home in New York. Two new penthouses were just introduced at 20 Pine, The Collection in lower Manhattan. The first of the two penthouses is a two-bedroom, two-bath 1,873-square-foot home priced at $3.2 million. The second penthouse is a 1,829-square-foot one-bedroom with 1.5-baths, priced at $3.1 million.
20 Pine, the former headquarters of Chase Manhattan Bank is now home to 409 residences. The building has a large lobby with an adjacent "library lounge." Amenities include The Collection Pool and Spa with a Turkish Hammam, The Collection Club fitness center and 25th floor landscaped outdoor Terrace Lounge with city and river views. The Concierge Residences at The Collection, from the 25th floor through the penthouses, offer hotel style amenities such the on-site services of concierge service, Quintessentially and a concierge lounge which serves a daily breakfast. The residences at 20 Pine, The Collection range from studios and alcove studios to one- two- and three- bedroom residences to open layout penthouses. Prices start from $715,000.
20 Pine has had a long road to completion, Curbed first talked about it back in January of 2006. The NY Observer reported last month that sales had finally begun on the long-awaited project and that Christopher Beaudet, a managing director at Deutsche Bank, bought a unit for $1.32 million.
Armani and Samsung have collaborated again, this time on a premium HDTV design. Revealed for the first time at the opening of the Milan International Furniture Fair. Combining cutting edge technology from Samsung with cutting edge design from Giorgio Armani, this is one sleek 1080p LCD television. Available in 46" and 52" sizes the tv itself is pretty basic looking (although I'm sure it has a more than "basic looking" picture) but the remote control sounds like it puts on quite the light show with "a full range of radiant backlights." Plus there's a smaller pebble-shaped remote for basic functions. Look for the smaller tv model to launch first (in Europe) this summer, with the 52" quickly following.
Do people even use roller skates anymore? I thought they had pretty much gone the way of the dinosaurs, but obviously I'm wrong as there is apparently quite a market not only for roller skates but for high-end roller skates. The Skorpion Quadline Roller Skate available from Emporio Armani features sleek looks (of course) and is adjustable to fit most any shoe size, plus of course it has all the fancy gear necessary for a smooth ride and responsive braking. They're only available in the one color scheme though (black) so you'll probably either love them or hate them. $425
.jpg)
Swiss designer Albert "I cannot work with cheap fabric" Kriemler has gradually built his family-owned brand, Akris, into a luxury power seller. Now serious competition for longstanding luxury brands Armani and Chanel, Akris 
