Lady Gaga and Giorgio Armani: A Relationship Worth Millions

Giorgio Armani, best known for his 1980's Corporate America power suits, has teamed up with Lady Gaga to redefine fashion. Armani took a surprise turn by dressing Gaga in a diamond encrusted hoop dress for last year's Grammy Award Show. Lady Gaga loved how Armani's vision matched hers that she hired the designer for her bondage style black leather costumes for her racy "Alejandro" music video.

There is more to come from this relationship between pop sensation and fashionista Lady Gaga, 24, and legendary designer Giorgio Armani, 76. Armani has begun working on costumes for the fashionista's upcoming concert in Italy in December. This partnership, which is worth millions of dollars in publicity and clothing, will revamp and give a new light to Armani's line. This new partnership is said to put Giorgio Armani "in a new creative spotlight- individuality, edge, futuristic style," says retail-brand consultant Tom Julian.

Since revolutionizing wardrobes 30 years ago, fashion experts haven't looked to Armani for new trends in quite some time. The daughters of women who wore Armani at his height in the 80's are now wearing younger designers such as Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang. I am interested to see if the Emporio Armani women's fashion show, that is scheduled for next week, will be inspired by Lady Gaga just like his men's fashion show was last spring. Armani is still a staple for men's suits, however designers like Chanel and Dior have surpassed him when it comes to gowns.

Thanks to Lady Gaga's social networking influence such as Facebook and Twitter she has been able to help the company think younger. Roberta Armani, Giorgio Armani's niece and manager of VIP relations states that "A huge company like Giorgio Armani has the duty to always be alert to trends and what appeals to young people," she said in an interview to the Wall Street Journal.

The relationship between Armani and Lady Gaga began last November when Roberta Armani contacted Gaga's stylist after watching her perform at the American Music Awards. Giorgio Armani was preparing for his January Prive label catwalk, which had a celestial theme. He took the time to sketch out three designs for the performer: a diamond encrusted hoop dress with matching platform shoes; a silver mini-dress and blazer combination with a lightning rod shaped hat, and a scandalous green bodysuit with high rounded shoulders and green crystal glasses. All three designs were chosen by Lady Gaga and all three fit Armani's futuristic moon theme for the Prive collection.

Despite their half-century age difference, Lady Gaga and Giorgio Armani have a lot in common, which includes Gaga's Italian heritage (the music sensation's real name is Stafani Germanotta). Armani has designed an entire wardrobe for Lady Gaga since their first collaboration in January at the Grammys, including for her appearance on American Idol and her "Monster Ball" concert tour. Roberta Armani states that the two have the perfect combination, "Gaga is so avant-garde and [Giorgio Armani] is so timeless that they meet."


XOXO


Christina