Twice a year, the usually calm Via Bergognone in Milan shuts down due to excited fashion week crowds descending on Teatro Armani. Home to the Giorgio Armani headquarters since 2000, the sprawling space includes a purpose-built theatre where each show season a catwalk is constructed.
On Friday, crowds again began to gather outside but this time the mood was much more sombre. They had come to pay their final respects to the visionary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died on Thursday at the age of 91.
Announcing his death, the fashion company said it would set up a funeral chamber at its headquarters, giving people an opportunity to view the casket and pay their respects from Saturday to Sunday. Following Armani’s wishes, the funeral on Monday will remain private. With barriers now being erected along the street, long queues are expected to form.
Armani was affectionately referred to as the “king” or “maestro” of Italian fashion. His journey from humble beginnings in wartime Piacenza to global fashion icon was deeply admired. From fashion to beauty to hotels, restaurants and even chocolates, he leaves behind an empire rumoured to be worth more than £9bn.
Beatrice Manca, a freelance fashion journalist based in Milan, plans to visit the chamber on Saturday. “Armani was more than a fashion designer in Italy; he was a source of national pride,” she says.
Paola Locati, an independent fashion communication consultant, will also attend. “It strikes me to think that as of tomorrow, Mr Armani will be for the last time just a short distance away. I will go and say a final goodbye, I am sure there will be lots of people, because he was loved and admired by the general public, his creations the aspiration for many, two friends of mine got married in his suits. A true master has left us, and he will be sorely missed.”
The mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, has declared Monday a day of national mourning. In a statement Sala said Armani “was and will always be one of the greatest representatives of Italian and Milanese fashion in the world”, adding: “Milan will miss his creative vision, his active participation, and his support for the life of our city.”
Elsewhere, Armani stores in Milan have closed and are expected to remain shuttered until after the funeral. Stores in London will close at 2pm on Monday. On YouTube, channels including CNN have set up live streams from outside the headquarters.
Manca says his death “has affected even those who did not love or follow fashion”. She expects larges queues at the chamber. “Many of whom may never have seen a fashion show. Everyone dreamed of being part of the dignified, industrious, and sophisticated world created by Giorgio Armani.”
Although Armani had been absent from his last three fashion shows owing to illness, he had been expected to attend the brand’s 50th anniversary show, which closes Milan fashion week later this month. He was also due to attend the opening of a retrospective at the Pinacoteca di Brera. Featuring more than 150 archive looks, it is the first time the museum has hosted a fashion exhibition and the first dedicated to a designer. Both events are still expected to go ahead.