Luxury Locations issue 26

FEATURE

Giorgio Armani: ‘Antiguans are the most welcoming hosts’ How Antigua’s quiet charm, natural beauty and warm people stole the fashion icon’s heart

I f a picture is worth a thousand words, one image of the late style icon Giorgio Armani – dressed in his signature black, sitting backwards on a chair, Galley Bay Beach unfurled behind him – tells a cogent story. Because among the superlatives, the monikers and the litany of accomplishments catalogued when paying tribute to the Italian fashion designer, one aspect of his personal life could almost have gone unnoticed. Armani’s deep love for Antigua was instilled almost four decades ago when he first glimpsed the island in 1987, making a pact with himself that he’d return to “explore it with due attention”. Years later he did more than explore, and in 2006 he set down permanent roots, investing in a pair of hillside villas in the exclusive community of Galley Bay Heights. He would later tell Coveted Edition magazine that he’d been “charmed by the colours of the sea”, adding: “Antigua is quite simply one of the most scenic islands in the Caribbean, with lush areas of countryside juxtaposed against myriad beaches.” The legendary couturier’s affection for the island in fact ran deeper than its aesthetic blessings. “Antiguans are the warmest and most welcoming hosts, who immediately make you feel at home,” he noted. Often described as the most successful Italian designer of all time, Armani quite simply revolutionised fashion and is credited with changing the way people think about clothes forever. He was master of the power suit, reimagining the staple look for women as they began to take up space in the board room in the 1980s. He was also a minimalist, a perfectionist and an haute couture superstar, the unofficial king of red carpet glamour and the first designer to ban underweight models from the catwalk on ethical grounds.

Armani’s deep love for Antigua was instilled four decades ago when he first glimpsed the island in 1987, making a pact with himself that he’d return to “explore it with due attention”.

Weatherills Hotel

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