Okonkwo Prelims

History

Giorgio Armani was born in Piacenza, Italy, in 1935. While growing up in this

small town he was highly influenced by his mother’s great sense of style,

which would eventually lure him towards fashion and business.

As a child and student, Giorgio Armani was curious and read widely. After

reading the book The Citadel, by A.J. Cronin, which was an account of a

young doctor’s work during the depression years, he decided to study medi-

cine. He lasted three years in medical school before he grew restless. His love

for creativity and fashion, which he could no longer suppress, prompted him

to leave medical school to pursue a career in fashion.

His first fashion job was as a men’s wear designer at Nino Cerrutti. He

worked with the house of Cerrutti for eight years before establishing his own

design house with his business partner, Sergio Galeotti. Their first collection

was presented at a fashion show in 1974 and had an audience of only six

people. Today, the brand that was humbly begun by these two men has been

translated into a + €3.5 billion business and one of the best success stories in

the fashion industry.

Branding strategy

The Giorgio Armani branding strategy is one of the most extensive and yet

one of the most meticulously managed in the luxury fashion sector. The brand

has skillfully crafted a single umbrella identity, personality and image from

which other sub-brands have been developed. This is a delicate and risky

venture for a luxury brand but the success that Giorgio Armani has achieved

in managing a portfolio of sub-brands under the platform of a single brand is

both remarkable and worth emulating.

The Armani branding strategy functions on three different levels, that have

been used to craft the brand’s identity and personality. It is also the tool that

is applied in the projection of the brand’s image to its public. The three levels

are:

1 The man, Giorgio Armani

2 The parent brand, Armani

3 The sub-brands of Armani

Giorgio Armani has redefined the concept of using the power in a brand name

to extend its product and brand categories. When consumers hear the name

‘Armani’, an image of the designer is likely to pop into their heads, followed

by certain linked attributes of the brand. For those that haven’t been exposed

to an image of Armani (and this is rare), a collection of abstract brand asso-

ciations forms in their minds. In both cases, perceptions of what the Armani

brand represents is immediately developed in the mind. These perceptions are

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luxury fashion branding