RÉ GIORGIO
October 30, 2025
Exhibition Giorgio Armani: Milano, per amore, Pinacoteca di Brera
I had never written a single word about Giorgio Armani. Perhaps because everyone already knew him — from fashion lovers, to basketball fans, admirers of interior design, or simply those enamored with Italian culture — I assumed there was nothing left to say. He seemed like a man about whom everything had already been written. And yet, the moment he was gone, I realized that writing about such remarkable people is an unenviable task: people whose contributions have become so deeply woven into the fabric of everyday life that we no longer even see them.
Rè Giorgio, as his fellow Milanese — and indeed, all of Italy — called him, shaped our understanding of fashion like few others ever could. To women, he gave suits that didn’t pretend to be masculine, but instead accentuated femininity itself. To men, he offered comfort without surrendering refinement, creating garments that felt like a second skin.
Giorgio Armani via Pinterest
He founded his fashion house in 1975 with his long-time partner Sergio Galeotti, at the very moment Italian fashion and the Made in Italy movement began conquering the world. He started with jackets, softening their rigid construction and freeing the body from constraint. In doing so, he forever changed the silhouette of modern clothing. Within just a few years, Giorgio Armani became the symbol of a new luxury, his name synonymous with a global empire of clothing, accessories, fragrances, interiors, hotels, and even sport.
He often spoke of clothing as a “second skin,” a philosophy captured beautifully in my favorite short documentary, Made in Milan, directed by the great Martin Scorsese. In it, Armani guides us through “his” Milan and explains his design philosophy: clothes must serve life, not dominate it. His inspiration flowed from the city itself: its architecture, its grand palazzi, its hidden courtyards, its restrained elegance. All of this found expression in his minimalist approach. Elegance, he insisted, is born from restraint, from removing what is unnecessary and keeping only what matters. Beauty and practicality were his inseparable pair. Those twenty-six minutes of film convinced me that style is far more than clothing and fashion.
I was reminded of this last weekend, when I visited Milan, his favourite city (and also mine) for the first time since his passing. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Giorgio Armani brand, and in keeping with plans made before his death, the Pinacoteca di Brera opened an exhibition titled Giorgio Armani: Milano, per amore — a celebration of his creativity and his bond with the city.
The exhibition presents over 120 creations in dialogue with artworks spanning from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. The intention is clear: to show Armani’s design as the distillation and continuation of a complex artistic heritage, and not simply the end product of the fashion industry. His garments stand beside masterpieces by Bellini, Raphael, and Caravaggio, among many other remarkable Renaissance and Baroque names.
Each piece rests on discreet, almost invisible mounts, allowing the viewer’s eye to linger on line, structure, and fabric. For the first time, fashion entered the halls of Palazzo Brera, mere steps from Armani’s apartment and the brand’s headquarters, in equal dialogue with canonical works of art depicting saints and nobility in opulent attire. As I observed the jackets and dresses, studying their textures and materials, it became clear that the exhibition embodied Armani’s lifelong belief: that fashion should not be only be focused on the garment itself, but the person who wears it.
Archival pieces on display at the Giorgio Armani: Milano, per amore exhibition
The exhibition also emphasized Armani’s inseparable bond with Hollywood, including the suit designed for Richard Gere in American Gigolo (1980), which marked a turning point in his career and secured his global fame. Armani understood what many designers overlooked: that clothing must build character as powerfully as dialogue, music, or direction. His suits sketched out traits of the characters they adorned, becoming an integral part of cinematic narration. Through them, he proved once again that fashion is more than just clothing; that it can leave a real cultural trace.
Until the very end, Signor Armani worked tirelessly. Even at 92, he oversaw every aspect of his brand. Everything he built was born from discipline, unwavering dedication, and faith in his craft. His perfectionism was legendary: he once stopped his car because he noticed a store mannequin dressed incorrectly in one of his pieces. Yet in his obsession with detail, there was no tyranny, only an unrelenting love for his work. Armani left an indelible mark not only on fashion but on the culture, aesthetics, and life of Milan; a city that will forever remember him as a symbol of refinement and the quiet power of elegance.
Richard Gere's outfit from the movie American Gigolo (1980)
Richard Gere and Giorgio Armani
But how did Giorgio Armani become Giorgio Armani? He once studied medicine, before dedicating himself to fashion. His first job was humble, far from glamorous: folding clothes from other designers in Milan’s central department store, La Rinascente. He passed away as one of the world’s most respected designers, honored by fifteen thousand people who gathered on Via Bergognone to thank him for all he had created and achieved.
Whatever our dreams may be, Giorgio Armani is proof that they can be realized through great effort and devotion, with humanity, and without pretension. May he remain an example to us, and for generations to come. Grazie e addio, rè Giorgio. Ti ricorderanno tutti.