Hollywood Stars Gather at Brera for Armani’s Final Fashion Show

Milan: Some of Hollywood’s brightest stars turned out for the late Giorgio Armani’s final show feting 50 years of his maison at the Brera Art Gallery in Milan Sunday night, including many who famously wore his iconic clothes like Cate Blanchett and former ‘American Gigolo’ Richard Gere. It was the final collection designed by the legendary Italian stylist before his death at 91 on September 4.

According to Ansa News Agency, the fashion show organized for the house’s 50th anniversary would have been memorable anyway, but after Armani’s death, it became an opportunity to pay homage to the house’s founder, which no one wanted to miss. On Sunday evening, everyone from Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s daughter Laura Mattarella to Holocaust survivor and activist Liliana Segre, from Blanchett to Gere, from Spike Lee to Samuel L. Jackson, came to the Pinacoteca di Brera for the last collection designed and personally curated by King Giorgio.

The event was meant to be special, celebrated in a place like Brera, in the heart of the neighborhood where the designer lived and worked. It featured a fashion show with over 120 men’s and women’s looks, modeled by the house’s legendary models, including Nadege, Daniela Pe‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡tov¡, and Markus Vanderloo. The show was made even more special with the piano accompaniment performed live by Ludovico Einaudi, amidst the lanterns illuminating the courtyard of the historic building.

A respectful silence greeted the guests, who at the end of the show, when legendary model Agnese emerged alone in an evening gown to walk the final catwalk, broke into a sustained round of applause, with all 700 guests standing in Armani’s memory. Greeting the audience at the end of the show were Armani’s longtime right-hand man Leo Dell’Orco and the late designer’s niece, Silvana Armani, responsible for the house’s men’s and women’s lines, who walked out holding hands.

At the heart of next summer’s offering, which featured other star guests including actresses Glenn Close and American Gigolo co-star Lauren Hutton, both in tuxedos, Anna Ferzetti and Margherita Buy, directors Lee and Giuseppe Tornatore, was a collection that distantly connected two important places in Giorgio Armani’s world: Milan, the city of work, and Pantelleria, the island off Sicily the designer had chosen as his buen retiro.

The show represented a testament to style and the closing of a cycle, where everything appeared fluid, light, designed to seduce with energy, following Armani’s idea of purity as harmony between dress and person. Fabrics moved as if following the island’s wind, lines were elongated, both in the suits and in the delicate, ethereal dresses. The colors told stories of light, earth, and sea, from organic neutrals to midnight blues to precious, vibrant notes.

All in all, it was a symphony of beauty that moved those in attendance to tears. The 95-year-old Liliana Segre’s words expressed the collective sentiment: “With Armani,” she said, “there was mutual respect because he had given his all, and I had given myself too.” Spike Lee also remembered Armani’s “humanitarian” commitment and called him “a good guy.”