WORDS
Peter Howarth
PHOTOGRAPHY
Philip Sinden
Giorgio Armani is undoubtedly a master of menswear. From the 80s onwards, his mission has been to deconstruct tailoring, literally pulling out the stuffing – the pads and internal canvases – of jackets and experiment with lighter-weight cloths. The end result, he says, is to make tailored clothes comfortable. Why should we, as modern men, not feel relaxed and easy in what we wear?
It is ironic that today there is still a well-kept secret nestling in the range of tailoring that Armani offers for men. Ask most people how much a suit from the Italian house is and they will correctly assume it is around the £2,000 mark.However, in his Emporio Armani range you can buy a suit, made in Italy, from £820 (for a grey virgin wool two-button single-breasted model; a chic dark navy version in wool/mohair is £860).
Emporio Armani was launched by the designer in response to the fact that there was an emerging younger fashion market that needed (ad)dressing. Since then it has become associated with
a metropolitan customer with a global, cultured outlook. If Giorgio Armani is associated with film, then Emporio Armani has nailed its colours to the music mast. But for all the patterns, denim and trainers, which speak of a night out in Shoreditch, Milan or downtown Manhattan, Armani’s tailoring backbone is in there too, giving you the opportunity to own a piece by this legendary designer for less than half the price of a Giorgio Armani collection equivalent.
armani.com
All CLOTHING EMPORIO ARMANI
Available in Emporio
Armani, 191 Brompton Road
Model: Nicholas Tarasenko at IMG
Grooming: Carol Morley