Guest of The Week Giorgio Armani in Paris
World News Actuality Presented By Claire
Evren
Claire Evren & Giorgio Armani at Paris
“We have had the Emporio Armani store on Boulevard St.-Germain for some time, and we had the chance to renovate the structure, so I worked on a new concept, light and fluid, an environment that surrounds and guides customers while enhancing the products. We renovated the Emporio Armani Caffè too. I never expected to have quite such a success with this little restaurant in the heart of Paris, opposite Café de Flore. Nearby, Louis Vuitton has expanded too. I have an apartment above my store, a small studio. I adore it—it’s well-done, very comfortable, and close at hand. I can stop downstairs, eat at the Emporio Armani Caffè, and then go the showroom. It’s all very familiar, almost like an extension of [our headquarters on] Via Borgonuovo in Milan. It’s the real kind of Paris that I like to know”.
“If I eat at the Emporio Armani Caffè, my favorite thing to order is risotto or pasta with tomato sauce in winter; in summer, I prefer a Caprese salad, Parmigiano cheese flakes, or some truly fresh ricotta cheese. Because Paris is a highly prestigious stage, and particularly this address, in one of the city’s liveliest areas, it seemed the perfect opportunity to introduce my Emporio Armani collection as well. I did try back in 1998, but that wish was unfulfilled until recently. There is a famous story that I was not allowed to show in Paris years ago. [The French police, citing security concerns, shut down his Emporio Armani show in March 1998 less than an hour before it was to start.] I have shown Emporio in New York, and together with Giorgio Armani for some special events, but the Emporio collection has not left Italy for the past 15 years”.
World News Actuality Claire Evren & Jason Morgan