Godfrey Deeny
Mon Apr 28, 12:27 PM ET
Paris - Call him Giorgio the Legionnaire.
Fashion Wire Daily has learned that Giorgio Armani is to be awarded the Legion of Honor, and no less a figure than French President Nicholas Sarkozy will pin the medal on the designer.
Sarkozy will confer the honor on Amani this summer in Paris when the Italian designer will be in town to stage the latest collection from his haute couture line, Armani Prive, on Monday, June 30.
A spokesman for Armani declined any comment, but well informed sources told FWD that Sarkozy has invited Armani to the presidential residence in the Elysees Palace to receive his recognition.
Most designers and actors, such as Valentino, Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz or thespian Jack Nicholson, are traditionally presented their ribboned Legion of Honor at a ceremony in the grand and gilded salon of the Ministry of Culture on rue de Valois, the heart of the Palais Royal.
His new wife, Italian model and singer, the former Carla Bruni Tedeschi, will join the hyper energetic president at the ceremony. Speculation will be rife about what Madame Sarkozy will wear to the ceremony. On Sarkozy’s much-publicized state visit to the UK in March, Carla’s wardrobe was Christian Dior.
However, Carla is not unfamiliar with Giorgio’s oeuvre; she wore a silvery white evening dress by Armani when she carried the Italian flag at the opening ceremony of the XX Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
Armani will also receive the distinction just before he celebrates his 74th birthday on July 11. Armani, a one-time student of medicine and subsequently a department store window dresser, founded his fashion house in 1974. He went on to create a label that last year scored annual sales of 1.7 billion euros, or $2.95 billion.
Armani is famed for his minimalist silhouette, "non-color" palette and revolutionary men’s fashion concepts, such as dressing guys in fabrics traditionally used by women.
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