It’s exactly two decades since Giorgio Armani launched his Armani Casa label, bringing his geometric lines and striking proportions into the realm of interiors. In addition to a now extensive range of furniture, Armani Casa has collaborated with industry-leading partners including Dada (part of the Molteni Group) on kitchens, Roca on bathroom fixtures, Rubelli on textiles, and Jannelli & Volpi on wall coverings. It also has its own interior design studio, responsible for Armani-branded hotels and luxury residences.
Mr Armani is rightfully proud of how far his design label has come. ‘I successfully and independently expanded into sectors beyond fashion to offer my all-embracing philosophy of lifestyle. I can say this is an enormous achievement,’ he says. Still, mindful of the current climate, he has eschewed the usual anniversary fanfare, instead marking the moment with elegant understatement by commissioning an editorial campaign titled ‘Living with Armani Casa’.
Art directed by Wallpaper* contributing editor Nick Vinson and photographed by another of our stalwarts, Beppe Brancato, the campaign, revealed exclusively in the September 2020 issue of Wallpaper*, envisions the home of a pair of longtime Armani Casa clients. The space is a harmonious blend of old and new: traditional boiserie panelling and marble flooring, offset by contemporary and midcentury design and art. It reflects a considered accumulation of pieces over the years, rather than one ambitious shopping spree.
An Armani Casa piece anchors every space – in the foyer, it’s the ‘Evans’ console from 2011, with its rectilinear central element (clad in a technical shagreen fabric) suspended among a pair of satin brass frames that fit flush against the sides. The dark and handsome ‘Euclide’ desk, from the same year, is the centrepiece of the study, its slender top and symmetrical chests of black maple drawers supported on painted steel ribbon legs. In the dining room, the 2018 ‘Ned’ table is in spotlight, its three elliptical legs joined by leather-upholstered spokes underneath the dove grey, Tamo wood-veneered surface. Each piece brings together refined forms with a luxurious yet thoughtful material palette, and the fine Italian craftsmanship that is a hallmark of the Armani brand.
