Blame it on Armani

Meanwhile, his company bent over backwards to accommodate you whenever an opportunity arose. When Sean Connery's luggage was lost en route to Italy, Armani's Rome store opened up after hours to dress him for his appointments. Armani's organization also had a working understanding of the intersection of stars, stylists, photographers, magazines and television. Stylists, often the first people to introduce a star to Armani's clothing, whether at a photo shoot or in preparation for a TV interview, quickly learned they could count on Armani's people to provide fashions quickly, and with a smile.

By 1994, when Armani felt it was time for a rare Hollywood appearance, he and his organization had a sure command of the town. Two soundstages at 20th Century Fox were taken over and Armani played host to the annual Fire and Ice Ball, which benefits the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program. Jim Carrey, Lauren Holly, Clint Eastwood, Val Kilmer, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Sela Ward, Will Smith, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Downey Jr. and a subdued-looking Cher were all in attendance. Michelle Pfeiffer introduced Armani. Isabella Rossellini gave a heartfelt speech. There was as much star power at that event as at the Oscars.

Ever since winning over key players on Hollywood's various A lists, Armani has wisely protected his position by deliberately courting the Industry's choice up-and-comers. In one savvy strategic initiative, he hosted 1996's "An Evening of Music and Style" in New York City. The party was taped for VH1 and featured live performances by Eric Clapton, D'Angelo, Joaquin Cortes, Sheryl Crow, the Wallflowers and Lauryn Hill's old group, the Fugees. Attendees included the Dutchess of York (Fergie), Gary Oldman, Mariah Carey, Winona Ryder, Mira Sorvino, Mike Tyson, Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow. The next day, shots of Mira, Gwyneth and Ashley dancing the night away were splashed across New York City dailies. To this day Judd favors Armani when she's doing red-carpet work at premieres. Gwyneth Paltrow, whose greater loyalty has been to Calvin Klein, nevertheless chose Armani for the evening she spent in the company of First Lady Hillary Clinton at the New York premiere of Shakespeare in Love.

With stars like Judd and Paltrow now already in the mainstream, Armani has gone right for the most perfect even-younger targets. Newcomer Angelina Jolie accepted her Best Actress Golden Globe Award for George Wallace in a silver beaded Armani dress that made the shipyard worker's tattoo etched on her arm look almost classy. When Felicity's Keri Russell won her Golden Globe last winter, she glowed onstage in a pale tangerine-hued Armani gown that served as a ringing endorsement to his entire spring line.

Armani's latest move has been to include music stars in his embrace. After a long courting a fashion shoot, Armani won over five-time Grammy-winner Lauryn Hill and managed to cosponsor her recent tour. He's currently solidifying a relationship with the ultra-hot Ricky Martin. His long-term friendship with Eric Clapton, whose concert garb he designs, led to his hosting an evening to preview Clapton's guitars, which were to be sold at an auction to benefit the singer's Caribbean drug rehab facility. The Armani machine took over Quixote Studios and filled the space with lounging couches and pink Plexiglas coffee tables lit from inside to provide the perfect backdrop for an appreciative crowd that included everyone from old-guard luminaries Andy Garcia, Kelly Lynch and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to young turks Vince Vaughn, Joey Lauren Adams, Casey Affleck, Luke Wilson, Robin Tunney, Giovanni Ribisi and Josh Hartnett.

Along with Armani's extraordinary success, there has, of course, been criticism. The overriding theme of his detractors has always been the same: his style is too safe, even boring. Inevitably, many celebrities find the Armani look too tame for the job of slaying the competition for media attention. Flashier designs, bright colors and bold accessories will always have their place in showbiz. But Armani loyalists remain unapologetic about the sense of adventure they supposedly lack. They know this: when you examine an old photo of yourself decked out in an Armani design at some glitzy event from a few years back, you never cringe in horror at what was "in" then. You find that your personal and professional desire to be a center of attention was indeed well-served by your outfit on that occasion, but that such easily misunderstood neediness was not blatantly displayed. It remained, as always, a private matter between you and Mr. Armani.

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Michael Kaplan interviewed Frederique Van Der Wal for the July 99 issue of Movieline.

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