Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*, joining the team in 2022.
Paul Smith and Giorgio Armani at Armani’s Milan home, where he has lived for more than 30 years. Its interiors were designed in collaboration with American architect Peter MarinoOn Giorgio Armani’s 90th birthday , we look back to a career-spanning conversation he had with British designer Paul Smith in 2022.
And are there any designers you admire and look up to? I have always had a fondness for Coco Chanel and for Yves Saint Laurent.
In a world of bigger and bigger fashion conglomerates, you keep your independence just as much as I do. What are the pluses and the minuses of being your own boss?For me, independence is the freedom of action, and the fact that you can steer your own destiny. I love the joy of spontaneity. Obviously, the difficulty is that you have to wear many hats: the designer, the businessman, the salesperson. And although you have a good team around you, ultimately the final decision lies with you.
Are there any particular influences that you find yourself often returning to? I have a large business in Japan, and have found the country a huge source of influence since I first started visiting in the 1980s. Am I correct in thinking that your womenswear design often takes inspiration from Asia, and your trips to the continent?
Collaborations with other design companies have been a large part of my life as a creative, and I gain a lot of insight working with teams in other disciplines. Do you enjoy collaborations and have you done any that you are particularly happy about? Is there one particular aspect of this change that you find disturbing or difficult? And something that you think has changed for the better?
One of the strengths of your business is how solid its foundations are. You’re not just independent in a business sense, but also in how you operate – your logistics are as strong as your design. Was that very conscious? Or like me, did it come as a result of developing very organically and gradually without this expectation of rapid growth and the perils that it brings?
I am a collector of many things, from artworks to bicycles. I am motivated mostly by the things I love and that bring me joy. Do you consider yourself a collector of anything? Is there any item you own which you particularly treasure? Limited Edition Mini Cooper. Above, the bike damaged in the crash that put a stop to Smith’s professional cycling career at 17.
I love Italy and have a home in Tuscany which I spend – at least – the summer in. It is the place I feel most relaxed. You are a true Italian to me and epitomise the relaxed glamour we associate with Italy. Where are you happiest, and do you spend enough time there?GA: I am more relaxed and free, as I told you, when I’m close to sea. Water is really my element so I love being in my house in Pantelleria or in my house in Antigua.
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