Giorgio Armani's Last Collection Revealed

The last Giorgio Armani collection signed by the late designer himself and marking the 50th anniversary of his signature line was shown Sunday night in a solemn runway show that gathered Hollywood stars and Italian friends in tribute. Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Glenn Close, and Spike Lee attended the black-tie gala in the courtyard of the Brera Art Gallery in Milan where a new exhibition features 129 Armani creations in dialogue with Italian masterpieces, per the AP. They include one of the soft-shouldered suits that Gere wore in American Gigolo, looks that helped catapult Armani to global fashion stardom.

Gere said he had no idea the Armani suits he wore in the 1980 movie would make fashion history, but he said they helped him decide how to approach the role. "I started trying the clothes on, and the clothes actually started telling me who this guy was," Gere told the AP from the front row. Hollywood stars and friends alike honored Armani for his key role in helping put Milan at the center of global fashion. Hutton, Gere's American Gigolo co-star, called Armani a "treasure" who contributed greatly to Italy's economy. "A giant for the industry. A great humanitarian," Lee said as he arrived for the show. Close said the designer "meant a tremendous amount in my life."

During the show, models walked slowly in pairs, women half a step in front of the men, around the colonnaded courtyard filled with the same glowing paper lanterns that had lit Armani's showroom for the public viewing attended by 15,000 mourners. Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi played live. The coed collection paid tribute to Armani's two Italian homes, his adopted city of Milan and the Sicilian island of Pantelleria, with the sandy colors of the island neighboring Africa transitioning to the urban blues and grays, in a river of relaxed tailoring that defined the Armani silhouette. At the end of the show, Armani's creative heirs, his niece Silvana Armani for womenswear and Leo Dell'Orco for menswear, received a standing ovation.