You Only Live Once is a belief shared by many of us. But Giorgio Armani also demonstrates that You Only Celebrate Once by hosting the One Night Only event in New York. The Italian fashion designer charged up the momentum of the Big Apple by staging “One Night Only” at the SuperPier at Hudson River Park.
The multi-event festivity entertained over 700 people including family, friends, clients, celebrities and media heads. The likes of Renée Zellweger, Dianna Agron, Lauren Hutton, Coco Rocha, Olivia Munn, Ellen Barkin, Jamie Tisch, Harley Viera Newton, Atlanta de Cadenet, Zani Gugelmann and Leonardo DiCaprio came together to toast to the success of the designer and his relationship with the city.
It took 12 days to give the SuperPier a Armani makeover that was complete with an exhibition space, a nightclub and a runway show venue. Though this series of events has already touched places like Milan, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Rome, it has wowed New York with additions and large photographs of some of the pieces on the walls.
The highlight of the megaevent was a runway show featuring his best Giorgio Armani Privé looks since he started showing haute couture in 2005. To mark the occasion, Armani also created a “Nude” ready-to-wear collection influenced by the fall couture, exclusive to his Madison Avenue boutique as well as at Bergdorf Goodman. This along with “Eccentrico” exhibition (showcasing his work from 1985 to till date) and Cocktail Dinatoire” added enough punch to take over the city’s fashion world.
Armani validated the grandeur of the events with a simple yet strong statement, “Because I am a strong, powerful man.”
He also stated, “I haven’t been present in New York since 2009, the year the Fifth Avenue boutique concept store opened. However, for me, America is one of the most important markets, even symbolically. The public has been faithful to my idea of style from the start. Since my first store opened in New York in 1989, I’ve always had an enthusiastic following. A big show presenting my haute couture collections to the American public and an exhibition revealing the perhaps unknown side of my work is my way of saying thanks.”
Overwhelmed by American women’s taste and style, he elaborated, “my idea of sophisticated, natural style has always received an enthusiastic response from the public, and because American women know how to wear my style in a way that is all their own and always different.” Not shy to declare his sentiments for the country, he stated that he loved America for “the pragmatism. You get the feeling that if you have a good idea and the tenacity to put it into practice, you can actually realize it here.” Armani also asserted that, “It’s been very positive as well because it was the first country to react positively to my fashion, so it’s very important to me. I have something to give back to America.”
