Giorgio Armani Goes on the Road with Duran Duran!

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GIORGIO ARMANI GOES ON THE ROAD WITH DURAN DURAN

September 27th , 2004, MILAN - It was announced today that Giorgio Armani has collaborated with Duran Duran on the design of the wardrobe for the band’s upcoming world tour, which kicks off early next year, following a series of special one-off concerts in Europe, around the release of the band’s new album ‘Astronaut’ on October 11/12, 2004. The band members, who are currently on the road promoting their first single ‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’, will attend the Giorgio Armani Women’s Spring/Summer 2005 fashion show in Milan, on Tuesday 28th September.

Giorgio Armani connected with Duran Duran when he saw them perform together for the first time in years at the ‘Fashion Rocks!’ charity concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall last year.

“I realised that here was a band of friends who had got back together to play great music and who were as edgy and stylish as they were when they first started out.

They’ve always been known for their great fashion statements, their rocking stage performances and for their multi-generational appeal. The audience response to them was incredible. So when Nick Rhodes got in touch and told me Duran Duran was going on the road again, I was enthusiastic about being involved.”

Guitarist John Taylor explains that the band was initially drawn to some of the women’s wear collection they had seen. “When we started thinking about stage clothes we knew that we wanted to combine great tailoring and incredible materials with something glamorous and slightly glitzy. These elements have been the staples of the Armani collections ever since I can remember – and that’s what we were looking to tap into.”

Keyboardist Nick Rhodes continues, “Clearly Giorgio Armani is a real master tailor and since we already have three Taylors in our midst it wasn’t much of a push to add a fourth!” On a more serious note he adds “We’ve always admired his exquisite work and the beautiful clothes he makes for both men and women. For us it’s a great pleasure to be working with somebody who totally changed the face of fashion – a true original, who continues to be at the forefront of style.”

The result is four looks for the band which incorporate lame, fine-striped and white silk evening jackets, black dress shirts with ruffles, Pop Art-style geometric prints, Crepe de Chine, denim, sheer black silk shirts, and lots of sequins used as highlights on everything from jacket backs to braces, and even as regimental-style stripes on the legs of jeans.

Giorgio Armani’s relationship with Hollywood is well documented. Less well known, however, is the long history he has in dressing musicians, including Beyonce, 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, The Fugees, D’Angelo, the Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Sting, Ricky Martin, Craig David, Ronan Keating, Ms. Dynamite and Phil Collins.