Giorgio Armani Fashions His Own Legacy with Succession Plan 

The 80th Venice Film Festival - Armani fashion show "One Night Only" - Venice, Italy, September 2, 2023 - Designer Giorgio Armani attends his event "One Night Only", a special fashion show to celebrate cinema. (Reuters)
The 80th Venice Film Festival - Armani fashion show "One Night Only" - Venice, Italy, September 2, 2023 - Designer Giorgio Armani attends his event "One Night Only", a special fashion show to celebrate cinema. (Reuters)
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Giorgio Armani Fashions His Own Legacy with Succession Plan 

The 80th Venice Film Festival - Armani fashion show "One Night Only" - Venice, Italy, September 2, 2023 - Designer Giorgio Armani attends his event "One Night Only", a special fashion show to celebrate cinema. (Reuters)
The 80th Venice Film Festival - Armani fashion show "One Night Only" - Venice, Italy, September 2, 2023 - Designer Giorgio Armani attends his event "One Night Only", a special fashion show to celebrate cinema. (Reuters)

Giorgio Armani has always kept a tight grip on the firm he founded, and the Italian fashion king's attention to detail extends to clear rules on how it should be run after his death.

Armani, 89, remains CEO and effectively sole shareholder of the business he set up with his late partner in the 1970s, which had a 2.35 billion euros ($2.5 billion) turnover last year.

With no children to pass it on to, there has been speculation about the long-term future of Armani's empire and whether, in an industry dominated by luxury conglomerates, it will be able to maintain the independence he treasures.

But a hitherto obscure document from 2016, held by a notary in Milan and reviewed by Reuters, sets out the future governing principles for those who inherit the group, while another details issues including protecting jobs at the firm.

The first document explains how his heirs should approach a potential stock market listing - though not until five years after his passing - and any potential M&A activity.

For the Armani look itself, the document commits them to the "search for an essential, modern, elegant and unostentatious style with attention to detail and visibility".

The document is the product of an extraordinary meeting that Armani called in 2016 to adopt new bylaws for the group which would come into force upon his death.

SUCCESSION PLAN

Armani's heirs are expected to include his sister, three other family members working in the business, long-term collaborator Pantaleo Dell'Orco and a charitable foundation.

The bylaws divide the company's share capital into six categories with different voting rights and powers, and were amended in September to create some without voting rights.

The Armani group, which as well as the CEO also represents the family members mentioned in the document, declined to comment on the document or its contents.

It is not clear from the document how the different blocs of shares will be distributed, but corporate governance experts say the guidelines should ensure a relatively smooth transition by giving the board a central role.

"It is an organization that reduces the margins for disagreement between the heirs," Guido Corbetta, professor of Corporate Strategy at Milan's Bocconi University, told Reuters.

Armani has a younger sister, Rosanna, two nieces, Silvana and Roberta, as well as a nephew, Andrea Camerana. Dell'Orco is also considered part of the family.

All are currently board members and, apart from Rosanna, all work for the Armani group.

Silvana and Dell'Orco are heads of design, working closely for decades with Armani, who dubbed them his "lieutenants of style".

The 2016 bylaws set the process for how the board will appoint future women's and men's style directors in a company known for its classic tailoring.

Roberta is Head of Entertainment & VIP Relations, while Camerana is sustainability managing director.

Other fashion groups including LVMH, Europe's most valuable luxury company, also have succession issues, with the five children of LVMH CEO and Chairman Bernard Arnault all having key management roles at brands in the empire.

LASTING LEGACY

Armani also created a foundation in 2016 which currently has a tiny symbolic stake but is earmarked to play a pivotal role in protecting the business he set up with Sergio Galeotti before going it alone when his partner died in 1985.

Its purpose is to reinvest capital for charitable causes and to maintain Armani's lasting influence over the group.

The foundation's bylaws, which were also seen by Reuters, call for it to manage the shareholding with the aim of creating value, maintaining employment levels and the pursuit of company values. The Armani group has almost 9,000 employees.

The arrangement has echoes of one adopted by Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf who left the brand to a foundation in 1960 that still owns the luxury watchmaker.

Armani has always defended his firm's independence and ruled out a merger, especially with the French groups that swallowed up Italian brands such as Gucci, now owned by Kering.

The group bylaws include a "cautious approach to acquisitions aimed solely at developing skills that do not exist internally from a market, product or channel point of view".

They also provides for the distribution of 50% of net profits to shareholders.

Any eventual stock market listing requires the favourable vote of the majority of directors "after the fifth year following the entry into force of this statute".

The Armani group declined to comment on a potential listing in the mid-term.

"The founding principles show Armani's desire to transmit and prolong his idea of a company, of business, there is a desire for eternity," Bocconi professor Corbetta said.

Despite his meticulous planning, whether Armani's aims outlast him will ultimately be beyond his control.

"They (the rules) could restrict the company a little and become incompatible with drastic changes in the market," Corbetta said.



Milan Fashion Week Opens with Light, Ethereal Yet Grounded Looks from Fendi, Ferretti and Marni 

A model walks the runway during the Fendi collection show at Milan's Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2025, on September 17, 2024 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway during the Fendi collection show at Milan's Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2025, on September 17, 2024 in Milan. (AFP)
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Milan Fashion Week Opens with Light, Ethereal Yet Grounded Looks from Fendi, Ferretti and Marni 

A model walks the runway during the Fendi collection show at Milan's Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2025, on September 17, 2024 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway during the Fendi collection show at Milan's Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2025, on September 17, 2024 in Milan. (AFP)

Just as the northern hemisphere starts the wardrobe transition from summer to fall, runway shows in the world’s fashion capitals seek to stir the imagination, and desire, for the next warm weather season.

Milan designers have been ambiguous about seasons in recent fashion weeks, with summer collections not corresponding to the soaring temperatures. That was not the case during the first day of Milan Fashion Week previews on Tuesday, featuring diaphanous, dreamy summery dresses, alongside crisp cotton.

Here are highlights from the first day of Milan Fashion Week of runway previews of mostly womenswear for Spring-Summer 2025:

Fendi centenary

Fendi honored its upcoming centenary with a Spring-Summer 2025 collection that paid elegant homage to the founding era, from art deco detailing to a flapper silhouette, light on the fringe.

In snippets of conversation that punctuated the show’s soundtrack, Silvia Venturini Fendi emphasized the matriarchal lineage that has made her the third generation to play a key Fendi role. “My mother was the energy of the house,” Venturini Fendi recalled.

The collection by Fendi womenswear artistic director Kim Jones sought to spotlight “100 years of very chic Roman women,” combining ready-to-wear with artisanal detailing of couture. Diaphanous dresses with art-deco embroidery were grounded with boots. Slip dresses were turned upside down as skirts, worn with a sheer top embellished with crystals. Knitwear defined the silhouette, under sheers or hugging the body over diaphanous trousers.

Bags by Venturini Fendi, artistic director of accessories, were soft and huggable, often carried in triplicate.

Ferretti’s artisanal summer

Alberta Ferretti showed her summery creations in the courtyard of a former cloister, now a science museum, with an elegant dome rising in the background, the juxtaposition emphasizing the artisanal heritage in her collection.

Instead of embellishments, Ferretti focused on technique. Laser cut cotton created an almost lace effect. Individual cotton leaves were stitched together as dresses or accents on bodices. Pleating elevated dresses, while boxer shorts gave a casual flair.

The day looks were in earthy tones of sand, ecru and black. For evening, chiffon dresses flowed in bright shades.

“They are real summer clothes, because the world in the summer is very warm. I know a show is supposed to be a show but reality is important,” Ferretti said backstage.

Marni’s essential beauty

Marni maintained its zany heritage under creative director Francesco Risso, with a wardrobe of whimsically tailored everyday looks for him and for her.

The female silhouette was swathed in form-fitting dresses and skirts, often with deep back slits, sometimes with a mermaid flair. Feathers, boas and crystal embellishments were pretty, and sometimes off-beat accents.

For him, broad shouldered jackets contrasted with skinny trousers. An off-skew bow on a chiffony blouson was kept aloft through some sartorial trickery.

Mixing art with fashion, models emerged in threes, and wandered through the showroom full of wooden chairs on conversational groups to a percussive piano trio.

A sense of Marni whimsy permeated the collection, partly but not only through a series of hats with a yesteryear military flair made light with feathery accents. Risso appeared to confirm his Napoleonic intentions, taking a bow with his hand thrust inside his jacket.

“We like things that are bold,” Risso said after the show.