Exclusive Lifestyle Report From Hong Kong: The Armani lifestyle unveiled in a new multi-brand concept store

Last Nov. 18, a glam party presented the new face of Armani/Chater House in Hong Kong. VIP guests, famous celebrities, socialites and fashionistas in town, including Shu Qi, Rosamund Kwan, Chen Kun, Wu Zun, Gui Lun Mei, Hou Pei Cen, Zhang Jing Chu, Chilam Cheung, Shawn Yue, Moses Chan, Fala Chen, Du Juan, Janet Ma, Mikki Yau, QiQi, Anthony Wong, Kary Ng, MR and famous American singer Kelis Rogers saw the new eye-catching exterior façade and store design, a new restaurant and an exclusive lounge club all housed at Chater House, Central.

In 2002, I met Giorgio Armani at his first multi-brand concept store in Milan. The same year, Armani/Chater House became the group’s largest concept store after the inaugural boutique at Via Manzoni in 2000. Despite his iconic status, Armani made me feel like I was the most important person to him at that moment. He was engaging, down-to-earth and so fresh (he smelled so good; as if he’d just stepped out of the shower and that was mid-afternoon). Perhaps these attributes contribute to the secret of his never-ending success.

Giorgio Armani Red Carpet Retrospective

Fast forward to 2011, at the Chater House event, and I had the same experience with Roberta, his niece, who’s the celebrity liaison of the fashion house. She, too, was engaging and down-to-earth. At that moment, she also made me feel that I was the most important person to her. It is no surprise why all things Armani are well loved, and continue to grow and go nowhere but up.

To date, the brand’s series of concept stores includes Armani/Ginza in Tokyo, Three on the Bund in Shanghai and Armani/Fifth Avenue in New York.

Armani always personalizes each of his retail destinations. Taking into consideration the unique qualities of each city, a signature architectural style becomes all its own. So, Hong Kong, the city of lights and its spirit was captured in a giant backlit bamboo motif wall covering the entire three stories facing Chater Road. The concept store brings together Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani women’s and men’s fashion and accessories collections, Giorgio Armani Cosmetics, Armani Junior, Armani FIori and Armani Dolci all under one roof. Not content, two new venues were added to the mix. The restaurant Armani/Aqua, and exclusive lounge, Armani/Privè, both a collaboration between the fashion house and the Aqua Restaurant Group located at the second floor of Armani/Chater House, complete the lifestyle concept. Armani’s elegance meets the contemporary interior design of Aqua’s flagship restaurant at One Peking, Hong Kong while his exclusive lounge club, Armani/Privè, which operates in Milan, Tokyo and Dubai also opens its doors in Hong Kong.

The facelift comes in time for the contemporary label Emporio Armani’s 30th anniversary. The bash hosted “Momenti di Emporio,” a retrospective of Emporio Armani images throughout the three decades, and a retrospective Red Carpet Exhibition of exclusive Armani dresses worn by celebrated actors and musicians on the red carpet in recent years. Get up-close and personal with Armani’s work from Anne Hathaway’s 2009 Academy Awards ensemble to Victoria Beckham’s dress for the MoMA Costume Institute Gala. Aside from the installations, the event also featured the Emporio Armani Remix capsule collection available there and other selected Emporio Armani stores around the world. To cap the event, R&B singer Kelis gave an exclusive performance to the special guests at Armani/Privè.

“I have looked to the Orient, and especially to countries and cultures that provide me with the precious inspiration. Although I have had a presence in Hong Kong since 1992 — and this has been expanded and consolidated by my success there — the vitality and energy of this city are such that I feel the need to inject a new impetus into the Armani/Chater House space. Hong Kong is a fabulous place with a culture that brings together East and West. It is one of the most cosmopolitan and vital cities in the world, with a vibrant, seductive and hospitable atmosphere that has fostered a unique urban idiom, a distinctive taste and a lifestyle without parallel. Armani/Chater House, located in the heart of the Central District — an area visited by tens of thousands of people every day — reflects the vitality and aesthetic of this very special city,” says Giorgio Armani.

Armani is one of the leading fashion and luxury goods groups in the world. It is one of the first to position its house as a lifestyle brand — from apparel to accessories, eyewear, watches, jewelry, fragrances and cosmetics, flowers, chocolates and even books. During the economic downturn, when others were downsizing, he launched the exclusive Armani Privè haute couture line and Armani hotels. The first hotel opened in the world’s tallest building in Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and the next in the Armani clan home in Milan. There is no stopping Armani. His creative force is a direct reflection on everything he sets his mind to.

When asked about the “Armani lifestyle,” Roberta Armani has this to say: “It has to do more with entering a house or a party, and not being noticed but being remembered.” (From Armani Spinner by Mary Agnew, South China Morning Post’s Life Style, Nov. 18, 2011).

And, meeting both Armanis in person, this holds true. They live it. They most certainly made an unforgettable impression.

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In the Philippines, Emporio Armani is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists Inc. The Emporio Armani boutique is located in Greenbelt 4.

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