Visit the Armani/Silos Museum and see through the eyes of Italian fashion

Milan’s very own Giorgio Armani has his fashion archives and architecture projects on display

Located in one of the biggest fashion capitals of the world, the Armani/Silos Museum opened in April of 2015 by Italian designer Giorgio Armani. This space celebrates his forty-year anniversary in the fashion industry, another reason why it lies on the street with the name Via Bergognone 40.

The Italian designer gave it his last name and added the word ‘silos’ because, “this building used to store food, which is, of course, essential for life. For him, just as much as food, clothes are also a part of life.”

The design given to the building goes in hand with Armani’s fashion philosophy and ideals which are adding the right and necessary ornamentation, geometric shapes and simplicity.

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The museum is composed of four hundred looks and two hundred accessories from the designer’s ready-to-wear collections from the ’80s to present day.

With dim lights and delicate spotlights on the mannequins, the audience is transported into Giorgio Armani’s mind by walking with close proximity affording the opportunity to analyze and observe the garment by walking around it.

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The exhibition’s setup and organization is the product of Armani’s idea of how fashion can be represented with themes, all which represent fashion in a clearer way. Within his selected themes, Armani presents androgynous style, ethnicities shown in fashion and the “Stars” section that includes his garments created for celebrities.

Armani’s main definition for fashion can be found in his “Androgynous” section that contains clean-cut, simple and pure style. Here the designer reinterprets the original concept of androgyny while adding a subtle hint femininity and elegance.

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An influence of non-western cultures can be seen in the “Ethnicities” section where he gains inspiration from them and feeds it into his own signature style. Some of the places that inspire him are Africa, China, Japan, Persia, Arabia, Syria and Polynesia.

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As explained throughout the exhibition by quoting Armani, “There is a special sort of allure in the traditional costumes worn by different people, in their distinctive decoration and line, in their richness of color and in their unique wearability.”

The last section consists of his strong bond with cinema; Armani’s male and female friends that have worn his designs on the screen and on the red carpet for events. The designer exposes his relationship with Hollywood and the stars who find liberty in expressing themselves anytime they wear Armani.

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This museum and exhibition represents Armani’s process of reflection by having the styles of importance to him. He remembers how it was in the past so he can understand what he might come to be in the future.