Bernard Arnault: “Very few are those who are as gifted and as successful as designers and as company builders. Giorgio Armani belongs to these very happy few. I’ve always regarded very highly what he achieved over the last 50 years, and still admire today his unique sense of elegance, based on the simplicity of lines and silhouettes. Across all his collections, there is a constant mark of his very sharp eye and his truly elevated mind.”
Ralph Lauren: “His very name speaks of an iconic style that is at once recognizable around the world. It is about a kind of effortless sophistication that always seems perfectly of the moment defined by a style that has ease and modernity. And then there is the man himself who continues to inspire us with the passion he gives both his work and his life. Congratulations, Giorgio, on this well-deserved honor.”
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Valentino: “I have enormous respect for Giorgio’s tenacity and his courage in offering his vision without letting himself be influenced by a newspaper article, a new movement, manifestos or slogans…pure vision of a very elegant and finely proportioned woman! Congratulations.”
Cate Blanchett: “Mr Armani is across every single aspect of the Armani universe; I think that’s why the house maintains its extraordinary integrity because of his direct personal attention to detail. It continues to be one of the great privileges of my life to be in his orbit and to experience the genuine, deep relationships he has with people. I admire him not only as a designer but as a creative force. His grace, his elegance, his effortless chic. As a man, he is deeply generous; the essence of integrity, intelligence and indefatigable curiosity. And as a designer — quite simply he’s changed the way we look. His influence is boundless.”
Miuccia Prada: “I have great respect and admiration for the coherence with which Mr. Armani has pursued his personal and precise vision. I also appreciate greatly what he did for women: helping them find a personal style and therefore making them feel more at ease with themselves.”
Michael Kors: “Mr. Armani changed the way men and women all around the world dressed and lived. He added an ease and sensuality to tailoring, and revolutionized the relationship between Hollywood and the fashion world. He is laser-focused, and his timeless approach to elegance makes him an icon for all times.”
Pierpaolo Piccioli: “Giorgio Armani re-invented women’s’ ready to wear, demonstrating that fashion is not only about dresses, but about ideas. He taught us that fashion can be a vehicle of a much deeper meaning and helped women evolve from common parameters. He contributed to build the best perception of ‘Made in Italy’ all over the world and we all owe him a lot in terms of inspiration and respect.’”
Marc Jacobs: “I was a teenager when I first saw ‘American Gigolo,’ and like so many I recognized that what Mr. Armani had done with his fashion was create a true style. A color palette, fabrics and silhouettes all his own. An attitude and a way of looking and being. A style so handsomely masculine with a chic and ease that had never been drawn or defined with such a steady hand. His vision of men’s and women’s fashion so specific and unique — and always, always so Armani. Congratulations to you dear Mr. Armani on this prestigious award so very well-deserved.”
Jean Paul Gaultier: “He has given the suppleness to the masculine silhouette and also to the men’s suit for women. It’s rare that a designer manages to completely change the silhouette: That’s what Mr. Armani has done. He has a great style, a great rigor — he’s a maestro.”
Sir Paul Smith: “In the Seventies and Eighties, Giorgio Armani almost single-handedly pioneered new ideas in men’s fashion; the softness in construction of tailoring, the big-fit trousers with no central crease, the dry handle fabrics and much, much more. Of course, the thing that impresses me the most is his continuity and the fact that he’s maintained relevance and independence throughout.”
Stella McCartney: “There is little left unsaid about Giorgio Armani. To have such conviction and such a strong sense of who you are in fashion is rare. He has a signature that is his and his only. His love of women is so clear and his delicate touch is felt in all we see. He is to be celebrated as a man that has made a firm mark on an industry that lets very few last as long as he has…a gentleman X.”
Olivier Rousteing, Balmain: “Monsieur Armani is one of the biggest inspirations for so many generations and I have to say that I have been always inspired by his cuts, his strong and uncompromised vision, and how he made his name timeless and iconic. Armani is an empire that talks to everyone no matter your age, no matter where you are coming from. His legacy is forever. We should all learn from him how to build an aesthetic that will stay timeless and fighting against any seasonal trends. Thank you, Maestro, to show what means fashion!”
Albert Kriemler, Akris: “As a young designer for Akris in the early 1980s, I admired Giorgio Armani for his brand-new soft tailoring with these truly innovative fabrics. I was wearing his suits and felt so right in them. He revolutionized fashion by doing men’s wear for women, and women’s wear for men. In his unique deconstructed tailoring, Mr. Armani imagined a completely new relaxed attitude for women and men. It is all about simplicity and class. He is one of the very few grand ones of our time.”
Thom Browne: “Giorgio Armani is a fashion icon who will always be remembered for changing men’s tailoring. He has inspired an entire generation of designers to look at conventional ideas and reintroduce them to people, and this is what we should all strive to do as designers.”
Kim Jones: “To me, Giorgio Armani has always been an inspiration, for the ease of the way he makes clothes. But when you see them in reality, the quality and fabrication is exceptional.”
Silvia Fendi: “My congratulations to Giorgio Armani for receiving the John B. Fairchild Honor, a rightful recognition to his iconic vision and contribution to the fashion world and Made in Italy. A creative mind with a true entrepreneurial spirit. “
Diane von Furstenberg: “My first Armani souvenir was a pin-striped suit that I bought in the mid-Seventies. I always loved the idea of having a man’s life in a woman’s body and that suit personified that feeling. I had just met Barry Diller in New York. A few days later, I was in Paris and he called me to ask me to come and join him in L.A. I did. I don’t know what I was wearing at the beginning of the trip…probably a DVF jersey dress, but I know that when the pilot said we were over Arizona I went into the bathroom and stayed there until L.A., pampering myself. I came out all made up, feeling on top of the world…in my Armani suit! The rest is history.”
Donna Karan: “When I think of Giorgio Armani, I think of no other world-renowned designer who made the first mark in building a lifestyle empire. From couture to men’s and women’s ready-to-wear; footwear to handbags and accessories; beauty to home, hotel to restaurants, and bridging luxury into contemporary and jeans and T-shirt markets. He is an incredible tailor. His understanding of fabrics and silhouettes [as well as] communication and advertising and continuity is second to none. He created an identity like no other while always owning his business. He is my idol designer because the Giorgio Armani brand authentically models the man in design and lifestyle. And, of course, Armani were the first suits my husband ever wore.”
Kris Van Assche: “Mr. Armani is one of the few to have put a real personal stamp on men’s wear: One immediately recognizes a silhouette, and even a color palette. Every once in a while, someone in my team might say, ‘That’s so Armani,’ and we will all know what that means. I remember watching Richard Gere matching suits with shirts and ties on his bed in ‘American Gigolo’ — a scene that really marked me and that proved that men, too, can dress to seduce.”
Vera Wang: “Giorgio Armani was a pioneer! Like so many empire builders, he had a vision and that was a modern version of tailoring, for both men and women, which has continued to influence fashion to this day! Using the softly deconstructed jacket/suit as a new way of dressing, in subtle beautiful neutrals, he went on to create an entire lifestyle brand of minimal, sophisticated clothing, fragrance, activewear, red-carpet gowns, tuxedos and on and on, never losing sight of the amazing legacy of Italian quality and workmanship.”
Stan Herman: “The consistency of his vision is amazing. He is the bridge that connected all the roads that define fashion today and did it with great style.”
Christopher John Rogers: “Giorgio’s commitment to classic design and tailoring has had a significant impact on my point of view as a young designer. His clothes are specific and individual, but last beyond current trends.”
Wes Gordon: “Mr. Armani is a personal hero of mine and a global icon. He created a world and aesthetic that is forever synonymous with his name. His designs transcend time while always remaining modern. Even today, I want to dress like Richard Gere in ‘American Gigolo.’”
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Proenza Schouler: “Giorgio Armani has been someone that we have greatly respected and admired since the days before Proenza Schouler. Mr. Armani is one of the few examples out there today of someone who started his own luxury company and scaled it, independently, to a size that is almost unimaginable in today’s landscape. His sheer dedication to his own personal language and to his eponymous distinctive style, whatever the trends of the moment, serves as an example of what can be done if one sticks to their guns and follows his or her own personal vision with utter conviction and consistency. He is one of the few, true legends still working today.”