At the Municipal Theater of Piacenza, his hometown, the Catholic University awarded an honorary degree to the stylist and entrepreneur «for the international dimension of the brand, for the holistic approach to sustainability, for the tireless search for improvement and for the awareness of the centrality of the company in the creation of shared value».
Armani’s reaction
«There are two things that bring me here with great emotion: to receive what you wanted me to recognize and to see Piacenza again», Giorgio Armani began. After having affectionately greeted the male and female students, Armani underlined “the doubly special value” of the title received from the university, “because it rewards my role as an entrepreneur, commitment and passion” but also because “it is conferred on me in my hometown, in a magical place that fascinated me as a child. I left Piacenza for Milan, but my roots remain here”. A man of business, creative and innovator, Armani was capable of an ideal and unprecedented vision, pursued with determination, perseverance and courage essential for the creation of a great project, which led to the establishment of one of the most important multinational groups in the sector.
Rector’s message Rings
An overall assessment of Giorgio Armani’s work, said Professor Franco Anelli (in the photo above, with Armani), rector of the Catholic University, could be drawn up starting «from the assumption, in all its implications, of the problematic dimension of time. Durability, for Armani, is a choice that concerns form and content: classicism of the lines and quality of the material speak of a product designed to resist the run-out of a collection with ease. But the novelty of his proposal has to do with the sensitivity and timeliness in interpreting attitudes, roles and functions of contemporary man and woman, without forcing: “Being yourself, but at your best”. In this sense we can speak of Armani’s classicism, not as a petitio principii, but as the product of an aesthetic innervated by dynamic tensions in the manner of great classical sculpture; the fruit, born almost instinctively and then pursued consistently, of a mobile and open dialogue with man». Born in Piacenza in 1934, Armani «is one of the most illustrious sons of the city of Piacenza, which has honored its image in the world», underlined the rector.
Why an «economics» degree
«Since 1975 it has gathered the tradition of Italian know-how, which has its roots in our territory, in the trades and works of artisans and weaving, tailoring and costume workers, to reinterpret it and make it an iconic universal reference». said Anna Maria Fellegara, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Law, reading the reasons for conferring the degree in Global Business Management «for the international dimension of the brand, for the holistic approach to sustainability, for the tireless search for improvement and for the awareness of the centrality of the company in the creation of shared value”. “Armani has created a group in the fashion and luxury sector in the first places in the world, maintaining the direct link between the company and the founder and preserving the original matrix on a global scale”. continued principal Fellegara.
The stylist and the history of Italy
«In the continuous renewal required by the changing conditions of the context, it has preserved an original intuition and has brought to the attention of a sector that is decisive for the economy of our country the multiple implications of its permanence in a fully human dimension: from the promotion fair treatment of people working in the supply chain, social dedication; from commitment in the pandemic, to environmental responsibility. The challenge to the consolidated consumer model, with dizzying rhythms and scarce attention to quality and beauty, is his most recent commitment and testifies to the choice of an economic dimension that favors what lasts over time and which cannot do without questioning serious and authentic about the ethical reasons for the actions».