Interview Magazine, November 2008

by Daniela Morera

It's not easy to get an interview with Mr. Giorgio Armani. He's got protection. So to get him, we sent our Italian secret agent, Daniela Morera, who has been an important Interview contributor for half her life and happens to be a personal friend of the great designer. Daniela is irresistible. Here's the proof--a great unauthorized Armani interview. And here's Daniela ...

Known as King George in the fashion world, Giorgio Armani deftly responds to business pressures while expanding his creativity. Past the 70-year mark (he's now 74), he has the chiseled body of a young man, an empire worth more than a billion and a half euros, more than 5,000 employees worldwide, and hundreds of stores. He is the current president, chief executive officer, and sole shareholder of the company, founded in 1975. Today Giorgio Armani is far more than a fashion designer; he is a full-fledged lifestyle arbiter. His eyes, with amazing speed, continuously take focus, recording and quietly dissecting all they see. And for him, it all started with the pleasure of sight. Andy Warhol depicted him with uncommonly intense, clear blue eyes looking dead-on at the camera. Although he and Andy had just met--and were both shy and barely communicating, sharing no language--his portrayal could not have been more accurate, capturing the very essence of Armani: clarity, elegance, discretion, integrity, and substance. Which means? Being true to himself. Andy located Armani's talent in his gaze; in the power of vision of a man who worships the magic of images. Today the discrete charm of his fashion sensibility is expanding into new worlds, including accessories, perfumes, home furnishings, restaurants, flowers, hotels, resorts, and yachts. His gentle obsession, his fascination with aesthetics, knows no bounds.

Milan. September 10. Via Borgonuovo.

I was invited to dinner at Mr. Armani's to watch the Italy-Georgia soccer match in his brand-new home theater (Italy won, "even though we played badly," I was told by my husband and Leo Dell'Orco, creative director of Emporio Armani Uomo). Armani had just returned from vacation. His schedule was packed tight and Milan Fashion Week was just around the comer. His press office had refused an appointment. Maybe next month? So I would try to "steal" an interview with him. I went prepared, slipping a tape recorder into my purse alongside my cell phone and lip gloss.

GIORGIO ARMANI: You're terrible, but, all right, let's do this interview. You were the one who did the first important interview of my life. We were in New York, on Fifth Avenue, on the terrace of my offices, doing a video for Andy Warhol. You came with your little crew. I didn't understand exactly what video was then. Now I'm much better informed.