Armani's last collection shown in solemn runway show with Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton in 1st row

Audio By Carbonatix

MILAN (AP) — The last Giorgio Armani collection signed by the late designer himself and marking the 50th anniversary of his signature line was shown Sunday night in a solemn runway show that gathered Hollywood stars and Italian friends in tribute.

Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Glenn Close and Spike Lee attended the black-tie gala in the courtyard of the Brera Art Gallery where an exhibition features 129 Armani creations in dialogue with Italian masterpieces.

They include one of the soft-shouldered suits that Gere wore in “American Gigolo,’’ looks that helped catapult Armani to global fashion stardom. Gere said he had no idea the Armani suits he wore in the 1980 movie would make fashion history, but he said they helped him decide how to approach the role.

“I was trying the suits on, and I hadn’t decided how I was going to play this character at all,’’ Gere told The Associated Press from the front row. “And I had to do it very quickly. I had a couple of weeks to figure it out. I started trying the clothes on, and the clothes actually started telling me who this guy was.’’

Hutton, Gere's “American Gigolo" co-star, reminisced about a light blue suit that Gere wasn't sure about. She called Armani a “treasure” who contributed greatly to Italy's economy, and remembered attending a Giorgio Armani fashion show shortly after Gigolo came out.

Armani “gave me a pair of diamond earrings. And they are still the only pair of diamond earrings I have ever had,’’ Hutton said.

Hollywood stars and friends alike honored Armani for his key role in helping putting Milan at the center of global fashion.

“A giant for the industry. A great humanitarian,’’ Lee said as he arrived for the show.

Close said she wrote Armani letters on a regular basis, even if she never sat down with him one-on-one.

“I’m here because he meant a tremendous amount in my life. He was generous about lending me clothes for events. He once came to London to see a play that I was in. I felt like he was a very special element in my life,″ Close told AP.

"I was just in his aura.″

During the show, models walked slowly in pairs, women half a step in front of the men, around the colonnaded courtyard filled with the same glowing paper lanterns that had lit Armani’s showroom for the public viewing attended by 15,000 mourners.

Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi played live.

The coed collection paid tribute to Armani’s two Italian homes, his adopted city of Milan and the Sicilian island of Pantelleria, with the sandy colors of the island neighboring Africa transitioning to the urban blues and grays, in a river of relaxed tailoring that defined the Armani silhouette.

Pockets in the draping of evening dresses were a testament to Armani’s practicality, and appreciation for his client’s needs.

One model walking alone in a glittering blue evening dress closed the show, a wave of applause following her around the courtyard like a stadium cheer.

At the end of the show, Armani’s creative heirs, his niece Silvana Armani for womenswear and Leo Dell’Orco for menswear, received a standing ovation.

Armani died Sept. 4, just weeks before Milan Fashion Week and a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the Giorgio Armani fashion house that he built to a global powerhouse.

The Armani empire was worth about 10 billion euros (nearly $12 billion) at the time of his death. He stipulated that his heirs should sell an initial 15% stake of the business, which includes the Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani lines as well as hotels and the home decor line Armani Casa, within 18 months of his death.

The buyer must have expertise in the fashion world, and Armani expressed a preference for the LVMH French fashion conglomerate, the L’Oreal beauty company or EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear company of which Armani owned a 2% stake.

Milan Fashion Week, which ended Sunday, included tributes to Armani for his legacy in shaping Italian fashion, in particular from smaller fashion houses like Stella Jean and Francesca Liberatore.

___

This story has corrected the sale period stipulated in his will is within 18 months, not three years, of his death.