MILAN — The presentation of the new Armani Casa collection during design week may have been the first since the death of Giorgio Armani in September, but the designer’s vision and aesthetics continued to pervade the sprawling store in central Milan dedicated to the home line.
The message was heightened by an exhibition called “Origins,” which juxtaposed eight signature Casa pieces designed by Armani over the years, revisited in new colors or materials, while maintaining their recognizable silhouette.
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On the ground floor, the “Origins” display included the Baloon armchair; the Seine console; the Riesling bar cabinet; the Dustin director’s chair; the Tokyo armchair; the Winchester screen; the Logo lamp, and the Danzica coffee table, each original placed alongside its newest version.
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For example, the Baloon armchair’s curved shape and tubular volumes with echoes of the 1920s was first unveiled in 2008 in black nickel and bi-elastic fabric, and was reissued in the Armani Casa Bergen fabric. The Riesling bar cabinet was created in black lacquer and dove gray leather in 2005, its design based on the repetition of the square form, a symbol of balance and rigor aligned with Armani’s taste, and it was revisited in golden canneté methacrylate.
On the second floor, three areas were entirely dedicated to the living room, each area defined by large, delicately hand-painted watercolor scenes evoking distinctive details of Armani’s own residences, from Milan to Saint Moritz and Pantelleria, Italy. Case in point: The new Borgonuovo game table, named after the designer’s Milan address.
A sofa upholstered in the Bilbao linen fabric with stonewashed chenille stood by the painting recalling the staircase of the Milan apartment and Armani’s sculptures of black panthers.
The new Play sofa series in Bretagne fabric and brushed wool and the Byron armchairs stood out, together with the modular Brando sofa, consisting of a single sanded light gray oak sheet supporting cushions in Bombai shantung silk fabric.
In February, in her first exclusive interview, the late designer’s niece Silvana Armani reflected on her journey, embracing her role as women’s creative director, and her commitment to preserving her uncle’s legacy while carving her own path. The daughter of Giorgio Armani’s brother Sergio, she flanked her uncle for 45 years on the group’s women’s collections and she admitted that she was very interested in interior design.
“Continuity is fundamental, and it’s my objective,” she said at the time, discussing the Armani Casa line.
To be sure, the Armani Group continues to expand along the lines of the designer’s strategies, building on a successful interior design business developed over more than two decades.
In January, the Italian fashion and design group inked a joint venture with Symphony Global to further develop a portfolio of Armani Hotels & Resorts in selected international locations.
Symphony Global is the private investment firm of Mohamed Alabbar and the agreement furthers the storied bond between Armani and Alabbar that led to the opening of the first Armani Hotel in Dubai in 2010, which occupies eight floors of the soaring Burj Khalifa tower. That hotel was followed by a second in Milan in 2011. An Armani Hotel is being built in Diriyah, a 300-year-old site located a 15-minute drive from Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The joint venture will be headquartered in Milan and Dubai for a contractual term of 20 years, with another 10-year renewal period.
Since 2003, the Armani Casa Interior Design Studio has provided complete interior design services to private individuals and property developers, including the Maçka Residences in Istanbul, the Century Spire in Manila and the 260 Residences by Armani Casa in Miami, in a 60-story oceanfront tower designed by architect César Pelli in Sunny Isles.