In an old granary On the southern edge of central Milan there is a wonder of fashion history, the Armani / Silos — a museum containing the timeless works of Giorgio Armani. Four decades’ worth of culture-changing fashion is housed there, on display for the public to admire. You can wander the halls and research the suits, but what you can’t do is touch anything or try on them. Not unless you’re Ghali — seen here in a variety of skins, picked and styled by GQ, from Armani’s archives — the Tunisian Italian trap star broke the fence. The collision of Italy’s illustrious past with its fiery future highlights the designer’s unique ability to withstand the times and trends.
Standing in a chic and cool gray concrete showroom in Milan, I’m about six inches from what I think is the most important menswear in the world. It was a coat worn by a headless mannequin. Unlike in the trans-town room, which houses one of the city’s greatest works of art, Da Vinci’s Last Supper, There are no security fences or strict guards here. In fact, it would be very easy for me to crouch a little closer and do what I usually do when checking clothes: reach out and touch. That, though, would be sacrifice.
The jacket in question — picked up by Richard Gere on a scouting trip to Armani’s Milan tailoring workshop — is one of the oldest coats on display here, dating back to when Armani was still was also a sly schoolboy, a medical student who flipped through the wardrobe. transformed the rising fashion designer, in his 40s, from an ordinary, obscure life to a life of extraordinary celebrity.
Of course, it was this light gray and cream coat that made the big splash when it was chosen by Gere to wear as Julian Kay in Gigolo of America. It was this jacket that pretty much changed the silhouette of menswear forever and transformed Armani’s fortunes. Suddenly, menswear — tailoring specifically — became easier, seductively comfortable and, for the first time, great. Just a few years before this jacket, Armani sold his beloved VW Beetle to raise funds for his fashion startup. He’s just starting to make waves in the US, with an exclusive Barneys account—but he’s by no means serious problem. Within two years of the film’s release, Armani was on the cover of Time magazine (and he has gone on to amass a personal net worth of about $7.8 billion).
