When Giorgio Armani first raised the big Emporio Armani sign over a hangar at Linate, people were confused, thinking he’d bought the airport. Who could blame them? In 1996, Giorgio Armani was one of the biggest and most thrusting brand names in fashion and the man himself was among the richest people in Italy. Armani might as well have bought the airport: The Emporio sign was a genius stroke of branding in the pre-social media age with hundreds of millions of passenger eyeballs locking on it — and still doing so — as they taxi into, and out of, Linate.
The logo isn’t going anywhere — not from Linate, not from Armani’s labels. At a time when designers are tweaking the look of their logos — Burberry, Berluti and Celine — Armani said he’s keeping Emporio’s as is. “It’s mine and I’m holding it close,” the 84-year-old designer said during a collection walk-through. This was his first show at Linate, and he said he was keen to make a connection between past and present.
That was one reason why Nineties heartthrob Robbie Williams closed the show in a black pleated skirt and matching sequin jacket — and performed later for a crowd
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