Fashion is fond of calling repetition ‘evolution,’ until the moment comes when change is unavoidable. At the house of Giorgio Armani, legacy has moved from backdrop to headline. In their first joint interview since Mr. Armani’s passing last September, Silvana Armani and Leo Dell’Orco, the heirs apparent hand-chosen by Giorgio himself, confront the question every heritage label eventually faces: How do you move a signature’s authority into the future when its author is gone?
This is no ordinary succession story. The house was built in the ’70s and ’80s on a radical assumption: power doesn’t need padding. Armani stripped tailoring of its armor, softened the lines, and handed menswear to women as a legitimate option, not costume. No theatrics, just discipline, understatement, and that elusive shade of greige. All while keeping the company fiercely independent, under his control for half a century.
Now comes the plot twist: continuity without the founder. The real challenge is knowing which codes are sacred, and how to renew and tweak them for today without subverting what made them matter in the first place.
Silvana Armani and Leo Dell’Orco are the house’s crowned successors—an “all in the family” dynastic turn that has placed them at the helm of the women’s and men’s lines for Emporio and Giorgio Armani.
Silvana, born in 1955, is Mr. Armani’s niece. She began her career as a model, walking for Walter Albini and Krizia but because she wasn’t tall enough she pivoted to switchboard operator at her uncle’s company. Perhaps sensing the role wasn’t her true calling either, her uncle asked her to help choose the color palette for a new swimwear line. From then on, she was pulled into the design process. She has been involved with Emporio Armani since its earliest days, rising to oversee its women’s collections.
Leo Dell’Orco, who hails from the south of Italy, met Armani purely by chance in the ’70s. Legend says that he was out strolling through a park when he spotted a dog wandering without its owner, a dog that turned out to be Mr. Armani’s. After that fateful encounter, and helped along by his striking looks, Dell’Orco began modeling for the house. What followed was a lifelong partnership that evolved into major creative and managerial responsibilities within the menswear design teams across the Armani lines.
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How did each of you approach your new role, both personally and creatively? How did you come to terms with this new responsibility?
Silvana Armani: At the beginning I was a bit afraid, but thankfully we work with very solid, very capable teams. They really gave us tremendous support. So yes, the initial approach was a little… tentative. A bit of fear, in the sense of thinking, Oh heavens. Now I’m on my own. But, as we say in Italy, you roll up your sleeves and get to work. I believe we are on the right path.
Leo Dell’Orco: I started out rather determined. I said, “OK, Giorgio is no longer here.” Of course, the thought of him was always present, but I told myself: I have to be decisive. So we worked in a very straightforward way. I was precise in what I did, trying not to think too much about what Giorgio would have done.
Silvana, Armani Privé was your first solo outing. How did you react to the criticism and the reviews?
SA: Thankfully there were very few negative critiques, most of the reviews were very positive. I felt the warmth in the room when I came out. I was confident that the collection was beautiful, so I felt calm. I didn’t plan this; I simply found myself in this position. But it gave me great pleasure of being so well received.
In your opinion, what difference does being a woman bring to designing collections for women?
SA: I think men, my uncle included, tend to add flourishes, perhaps to make a look feel more ‘feminine’. But even a masculine suit can be utterly feminine if worn with the right attitude. Women relate to their bodies differently than men do, which naturally changes how you design: comfort, movement, sensuality all play a role. Dressing a woman is more complex than dressing a man. Yet as a woman, you know your body. You try things on, notice if a jacket’s length is off, and tweak it. In a way, I am the measure of what I create. Designing for women, as a woman, makes me start from lived experience rather than fantasy or idealization. In a world of design still largely steered by men, I hope to offer a slightly different gaze, one grounded in empathy.
What did you bring of your own into this new vision?
LDO: In menswear I introduced many color nuances that he might have interpreted differently. I was a bit more decisive. With Giorgio we reviewed everything, from fabrics to grooming, whereas we moved much faster.
SA: He always said you must never be satisfied, and he taught us that well. He would review and review and review, he was never fully convinced. Leo and I, we looked at it once and said, well, we were quick! We believe he would’ve approved. We created an Emporio collection in our own way, true to who we are, with a different twist.
And what is this twist?
SA: The twist lies in certain styling touches, for example, wool socks worn pulled up over the look, which he probably would never have done, along with other small details you’ll see on the runway. He was extremely precise, almost obsessive.
LDO: He was the first to say, “Work together, make sure you collaborate!”—yet he was the first not to do so.
SA: I really enjoyed working together with Leo. We had already done it on other occasions during events, but this time I loved it because there were so many of us, all the menswear team and the womenswear team. It was real fun, we enjoyed it.
The next Emporio show will be the first coed show designed by both of you. Why did you decide to make it coed?
LDO : It was actually Mr. Armani’s decision, to ensure that once in stores, the men’s and women’s lines would feel cohesive. That’s why this was our first time working together, and overall, we got along fine. The collection stays true to the brand’s spirit, offering something for everyone. The show is set against the imagined backdrop of a music school, where young musicians train to become conductors. Nothing literal, simply an exploration of harmony between discipline and personality. We wanted it to feel fresh and playful, while featuring classic Emporio staples hitting all the right notes.
Faced with such a monumental legacy, how do you plan to carry it forward? Fashion houses so strongly shaped by their founder don’t always manage to sustain that identity over time. Proof is the constant changes at the creative helm of historic brands.
SA: We have to move forward while preserving the Armani core values and his way of thinking, but we also have to evolve. As we go ahead, we’ll see what happens. I’m not someone who lets herself be influenced by Instagram or social media, but we’ll see how things develop step by step. Our intention is to carry it forward to the best of our abilities.
LDO: We’re also part of the Armani group, we have strong support, and the company is solid. It’s not just Silvana and me. Our teams have the expertise and the experience to keep us confident.
Fashion is constantly evolving, and Mr. Armani’s heritage must also be measured against what’s happening in the world. Perhaps he was more resistant to adapting to the new, whereas for you this could be energizing…
LDO: Of course we have to move forward and pay attention to what’s happening—but not only by looking up; you also have to look down at the ground! For me, it’s important to observe how people actually dress. I’m curious to see the mood of real people’s style.
In your view, which aspects of the Armani style are enduring, and which need to be reframed?
LDO : One fundamental element is the way he always constructed the jacket. It’s something he consistently did and it remains a cornerstone of his style. The challenge is to reinterpret it in a new, different way. That’s what I’m trying to do in the Giorgio Armani menswear collection. The women’s collection coming out now, in my opinion, also represents a shift.
SA : Yes, it is a shift. It’s still clean, still chic, but there are small details he might not have done. I stripped things back, as I did in Paris. The makeup is lighter. There are fewer accessories. We saw the fittings the other day and it’s truly very beautiful. Much sharper and more precise. It’s also more compact, something that happened naturally. It’s a concentrated Armani. People won’t even understand why the show ends so quickly! What will feel different is the way the colors are mixed, they’re very distinctive, all in these very light tones, like the colors of dawn. It’s a very interesting palette. We had already set it with him, just like the fabrics he had chosen, so on those aspects we shared the decisions. On the silhouettes, however, we decided ourselves. We revisited some past styles, reworking them and lengthening the jackets. We softened and slightly widened the shoulders. I don’t do skirts, so I made only trousers. And I removed the accessories. I really “emptied” it out; only for evening did we add earrings, and that’s it.
When my uncle piled on all those accessories, he was enjoying himself and he wouldn’t listen to anyone’s criticism—not at all. Sometimes I managed to take a few away; Leo was more forceful and had a stronger voice. I, perhaps out of respect, would end up saying, all right, let’s keep the hat. Even when reviews were negative, and I would point that out in my recap, he still wouldn’t hear of it. For this show, one new element is our collaboration with Mina, who created an original song especially for us, newly performed by her.
LDO: There’s also a touch of Japanese influence, which Mr. Armani loved, the idea of slightly unusual shapes that, through our fabrics, become more Western and wearable. Because the key thing is wearability; otherwise you say, beautiful dress—but where would you actually wear it?
How do you see fashion today? Is there something you like in what other designers are doing, or something you don’t agree with?
LDO: What others are doing is rather far from our way of thinking. Personally, I have always liked Japanese designers. Today there is an enormous amount of fashion. There are many young designers, and I look at all of them, but honestly, if you asked whether any of them truly inspires me right now… there isn’t anyone in particular.
Is there no one you think, I wish I had done that first?
LDO: No. If anything, I would say there are still many people copying Armani, drawing inspiration from vintage Armani.
And was there anyone Mr. Armani particularly liked?
SA: He liked Jean Paul Gaultier. At the time he also appreciated Claude Montana. And of course Valentino Garavani.
And how did Mr. Armani view today’s young designers?
SA: He used to say they’re not designers but assemblers, stylists rather than true creators. In his view, they weren’t real designers, whereas he was.
How do you feel about opening up to outside collaborations? And would you ever consider that another designer, possibly a strong one, might one day join you or even replace you?
LDO: In terms of collaborations, we did one with Kith and Our Legacy for Emporio menswear, not for womenswear.
SA: As for bringing in an external figure, my uncle was never in favor of it. He never wanted stylists or anyone from outside. And I think he was right, because if he creates an all-red collection, a stylist can’t just come in and say, I don’t like red, why didn’t you make it green? No, he never wanted that kind of interference.
Do you think that in the future it would be wiser to bring in an external designer, so that you can eventually pass the baton?
SA: We’re of a certain age, after all (laughs).
Change isn’t only about age but also about the need for creative refresh—and fashion is hungry for the new.
LDO: Perhaps one of the reasons behind these constant changes at the helm of major brands is that there’s simply too much fashion, and the pressure for change is relentless. In the past two years, things have happened that no one had ever expected, I don’t even know how many designers have been replaced.
Back to the question of succession and the future: perhaps grooming someone from within is more in line with your thinking?
SA: As I was saying earlier, we have a group working with us that is extremely capable. Some of them worked with him for 40 years, so they know perfectly well what he would have liked and what he wouldn’t. And they are already inside the company. The team we have today is very aligned, they share the same mindset; there’s no one acting like a loose cannon. They work very well together, and I work very well with them.
Leo, how are you approaching menswear today? Do you have your own way of seeing it? Do you see it moving closer to younger, more genderless, more experimental directions?
LDO: It’s a very strong moment for menswear—there are so many exciting options—but for me, a man must remain a man. I don’t see a man in a skirt walking the Armani runway. That said, I do watch carefully what others are doing, how they innovate, experiment, push boundaries. For me, the classical structure of men’s dressing is still the template. A man should never look ridiculous. We can explore new paths, dare a little, mix things that never met before—perhaps even be a bit audacious, but always with class and restraint.
So, in essence, between reinventing tradition and protecting it, the Armani way is about finding a safe middle ground?
SA : Yes—it must be protected, but it must also be reinvented. You reinvent it through shapes, by adjusting forms or colors. You work on proportions, different shoulders, perhaps a larger double-breasted jacket. Right now all the girls are wearing oversized men’s jackets. These are the things you have to observe on the street, even if, often, by the time a trend reaches the street, it’s already old.
What would Mr. Armani make of what you’re doing?
SA : He would probably throw his hands up in his hair!
When you work, do you still feel him telling you things? Because surely he wouldn’t stay quiet.
LDO: No, of course he wouldn’t stay quiet. That said, our archives are intact. Giorgio never reused something he had done 10 years earlier, he never wanted to go backward. But I think that’s something we can do. I see so many people who have copied us, so we can certainly do it too!
We have an extraordinary archive that he never really mined to remake past pieces. There’s an enormous amount of material to work with, 50 years of archives. He used to say, “No, no, not from the archive, it makes everything look so old,” and so on, and we would reply, “But what does that matter? New designers are looking at you, they’re remaking your jackets, your tailoring, and you don’t want to look into your own archive?”
You have no idea how many times we argued about this. He would say, “No! What am I supposed to do, the jacket with the skirt again?” In his own way, he was open to seeing things differently, but when it came to his own past, he never wanted to revisit it. Still, there is a great deal of Armani in the menswear tailoring that has dominated the scene in recent years.
Beyond work, what personal passions do you have that may, or may not, translate into what you do professionally?
SA: I’m drawn to art, design, and women’s literature. I believe we women bring a rather particular lens to the world. The architecture of Odile Decq comes to mind. I love photographic books, even the rough-edged kind: Nan Goldin fascinates me. I’m inspired by the writing of Fleur Jaeggy, so spare and electric, and by her elegance as a former model. I’m always struck by people’s elegance, by a certain eloquence of gesture. There is cinema, the classics, of course, but also TV series: I’ve recently fallen for Love Story about Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy Jr. And I deeply love nature. I have a house in the countryside where I retreat on weekends, and I adore dogs. I have three dogs, and I also founded a very large dog shelter near Pavia. I have dogs and horses, all rescued from difficult situations, that’s really my passion. Whenever I used to have even half a free day—not anymore, I’m afraid—I would go straight to the shelter. When I told my uncle about it, he complained, “Well, now you’ll always be with your dogs!” That truly is my passion. And I would very much like to do interior design.
LDO: Now we’re also involved in areas we weren’t part of before—beauty, fragrances, makeup, Armani/Casa. It’s all new, and I enjoy it very much.
SA: I love homes. I designed all my houses myself without asking any architects, so I consider myself quite ready for a next life as an interior decorator. My taste is different from my uncle’s; he loved things very crisp and precise; mine is more feminine and romantic. I love a distressed wall, or wood bleached by the sea—things he absolutely hated. He would’ve said, “Yes, right—sea-bleached wood, imagine that!”
LDO: I like following sports, and I have a passion for watches, I’m a collector; I have 1,500 of them. I’m also a football fan. I’m president of Olimpia Milano, the Milan basketball team. Giorgio was passionate too. [Before his passing,] he personally oversaw the Armani tribute during the Olympic opening ceremony, when the models walked in Armani suits forming the Italian flag. He also loved the theater. Not long ago he designed the costumes for a ballet starring étoile Alessandra Ferri at the Vienna Opera.
Do you miss him?
SA: We miss him very much, especially here in this palazzo. I see him everywhere. It’s as if he were still here, still giving his opinion on everything. He always will be. And his birds are still here.
Birds?
SA: There’s a blackbird in a cage, and a parrot called Pedro. They were his, they lived in his house.
Do they talk? What do they say?
SA: Yes, they talk. The blackbird says, “Giorgio! Giorgio!” It’s actually quite eerie.