Armani

Don't refer to Giorgio Armani's work as "fashion," because the man himself prefers the term "style." While fashions come and go, Armani suits have remained consistent in style since he started what is now a huge corporation (while still privately and solely owned by him.)

The Armani brand has been in demand since Richard Gere wore them in "American Gigolo" - soon every young businessman who wanted to look good and feel sexy was spending big dough on the expensive suits, and a legend was born.

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An Italian designer born in 1934, Giorgio is self-taught and started out as a window dresser in Milan - the very city which (along with Paris) would become the heartbeat of the fashion world. Within ten years of that modest job, he would design and sell the elegant-yet-practical suits that would change the business world forever. The power suit - a masculine design for the corporate woman - helped change the way women were viewed in the previously "men only" business and corporate world. This gave him another idea; he would approach celebrities about wearing his styles. Along with Richard Gere, Jodie Foster is one of the celebrities faithful to the Armani collections since first approached.

Currently the runways reflect yet another Armani staple; the idea that no matter what the "fashion" of the day is, Armani will continue to drum to his own beat. While Skinny legged trousers are going to be in with the other designers, Armani suits will be baggy and boxy, just as they were in the eighties. Try as he might, the suits will not be escaping current fashion trends altogether, though, because the shiny metallic look is in, and these are in evidence in the fabrics Armani is using for this season's line. Still, one has to wonder whether the other designers are following his lead? If they were smart they would, but Armani will always be in a class by himself, along with the men who choose to wear the very best suits style has to offer.