Armani's business and creative evolution on show in Milan a year after founder's death

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MILAN (AP) — The future of Giorgio Armani ’s empire is coming into sharper focus a year after the designer’s death. On the runway in Milan, his signature elegance defined the latest collection previewed on Sunday, while behind the scenes talks are set to begin on the sale of a stake, as stipulated in his will.

Armani gave preference to LVMH, L’Oréal and EssilorLuxottica as potential buyers of a 15% stake to be sold within 18 months of his death on Sept. 4, 2025, at the age of 91.

Chief Executive Giuseppe Marsocci told reporters backstage at the runway show that there were no favorites and that the stake could potentially be split among all three companies.

“It is not written in stone that there has to be one,” he said.

Marsocci said the will allowed discussions to begin only after the first anniversary of Armani’s death but declined to confirm whether they had started. “The assumption” that talks were underway “may have some logic,” he said.

The recent appointment of Dario Vitale as head of accessories at Giorgio Armani and creative director of Emporio Armani has generated interest in the fashion house’s creative future. No date has been announced for his runway debut.

Asked whether Vitale’s role could expand, Marsocci said everything was evolving. “From here into the future, you never know,” he said.

The womenswear collection for next spring and summer deliberately mixed daywear with evening looks, with sparkle running through both. Lean, fluid trousers and long dresses shaped the silhouette, often paired with rigid bodices. The collection was titled “Evolution.”

“It evolved in the sense that it is fashion that everyone can wear,” said Silvana Armani, the late designer’s niece and longtime head of womenswear.

She departed from her uncle’s legacy in one important way: incorporating cotton, a textile that she said he didn’t like but which she “adores.”

The designer’s presence was most felt in the collection in two pieces: a recreation of the formal double-breasted Communion suit that Armani wore when he was 8-years-old and a graphic jacket bearing his smiling image.