Glenn Close: If Giorgio Armani Stopped His Fashion Magic, I'd Just Stay in My Jammies

Editor’s Note: Liz Peek is a financial columnist

Fashionistas turned out to honor Giorgio Armani today in droves. Some 150 of his adoring fans met for lunch at the Hearst Tower to see him accept the Couture Council’s Global Fashion Leadership Award. It was a gorgeous crowd (almost all dressed in Armani) and included Cathy Black, the president of Hearst; Glenda Bailey, indefatigable editor of Harper’s Bazaar; Joyce Brown, the head of the Fashion Institute of Technology; Nadia Swarovski, who graciously underwrote the event; Glenn Close, who presented the award; our own Liz Smith and many other luminaries. Mr. Armani, who was sporting sneakers, a solid tan and his signature black blazer, appeared completely relaxed and quite happy to be the center of attention.

Of the principals involved in the luncheon, he was surely the only one who was relaxed. Mr. Armani’s schedule today included a photo shoot at ten o’clock with Harper’s Bazaar, a visit to the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he spoke to about 250 students, and then his guest appearance at lunch. To get to all three destinations in that time frame in congested Manhattan requires luck and determination; a police escort would have come in handy.

Nonetheless, all of this went swimmingly (even though Mr. Armani stayed out late last night celebrating George Clooney’s birthday party at Bungalow 8) until he got stuck in an elevator at FIT for 15 minutes.

You have to understand what a disaster this could have been. Mr. Armani’s every move is orchestrated and planned by phalanxes of young men and women dressed in black that have ear pieces and cell phones and whose job it is to make things run smoothly. You see this sort of thing in movies about moguls – assistants running alongside smoothing the way, taking notes, handing out cough drops – but until you see such an organization in motion, you really can’t imagine it. Notwithstanding this potential body blow to his minute-to-minute scheduling, Mr. Armani was in fine fettle as he spoke to FIT students. They had had to go online for seats; the tickets sold out in ten minutes.

By way of background, I should note that I am involved with the Couture Council in New York, a support group that raises much-needed funds for the Museum at FIT. The museum’s director is the brilliant Valerie Steele, who has written extensively on the history of fashion and who curates most of the shows. The museum’s collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories and 30,000 textiles dating from the 18th century offers FIT’s 10,000 students unparalleled inspiration.

To raise awareness of our museum, the Council has arranged trips to the ateliers of designers such as Ralph Rucci and Zac Posen, and we periodically host events such as today’s luncheon honoring Mr. Armani.

It was a blissfully sunny day, so the views were endless from the top floor of the Hearst Corporation’s magnificent new corporate headquarters in midtown Manhattan. The room had been elegantly decorated in black and white, accented by Swarovski crystal containers of pink and white hydrangeas. The white engraved menu cards had a swathe of black crystals on the bottom – very chic. The centerpiece of the room was a tall black showcase displaying a white satin Armani gown encrusted with Swarovski crystals. The gown was breathtaking and apparently weighs 35 pounds. Mr. Armani is generously donating the piece to the Museum at FIT.