Giorgio Armani's 40th Anniversary

Giorgio Armani celebrated his 40th anniversary on Thursday.

Armani started the day with a tour of his new museum and exhibition space, Silos. With 600 of his signature looks are on display at the venue, Silos recounts the 40-year history of his fashion legacy. Armani said he doesn’t like to refer to Silos as a museum. “I don’t want this space to be static; [I] plan to renew the displays with pieces from the new collections every six months,” he explained.

Afterwards guests attended a runway show at his theater. The show consisted of selections from the designer’s Privé collections over the years.

 The Silos building, constructed in 1950, is 48,600 square feet of open space; four floors high with two levels of naves overlooking it on either side. The ceilings are painted black in contrast to the gray cement floors. “I wanted to keep the rough aspect of the Silos as it was,” remarked Armani.

A digital archive of sketches, technical drawings and materials from the designer’s collections is available on the top level, as well as a cataloging system developed specifically for the Silos. A café and a gift shop are on the ground floor. Near the foyer, after the glass facade, there’s a mock red carpet and videos of celebrities donning Armani’s designs.

The opening of Silos is under the patronage of the municipality of Milan, and coincides with the unveiling of the international Expo, of which Armani is special ambassador for fashion. The ministry of economic development is celebrating the designer’s anniversary with a special stamp bearing Armani’s sketch of the Silos and produced in a limited run of 800,000 pieces.

The legendary designer will release his autobiography in September during Milan Fashion Week. “I wanted to share personal thoughts and moments, the ones that I choose to share — there are others nobody will ever pull out of me,” he said. The designer is also thinking about renovating a building near Silos with another exhibition area to showcase either looks from his Privé couture collections or from the Emporio Armani line.