After a fashionista (i.e., small portions) cannelloni lunch (Italian, of course), we heard from Joyce Brown and Glenda Bailey. They were followed by the beautiful Glenn Close, who has known Mr. Armani for 25 years and who has been dressed by him for many of her most famous roles. She spoke fondly of their collaboration, noting that she had been on the "worst dressed" list before getting to know Mr. Armani, who saved her from that fate. She begged him to continue making his beautiful clothes since "otherwise I might just stay in my jammies."

All the speakers emphasized the impact that Mr. Armani has on the way women dress. I applauded him for allowing women in the corporate world, like myself, to look feminine yet capable, while other designers dressed us like undersized men. I also thanked him for simplifying life greatly during the time that I was working long hours on Wall Street and caring for three small children; I had NO time to think about clothes, but I didn’t need to. Mr. Armani made it simple.

Mr. Armani responded with waves and smiles, and a veritable torrent of Italian, which his translator tried valiantly to keep up with. We think he promised Glenn to keep making beautiful sexy dresses. He also asked the gorgeous Nadia Swarovski how he could take the sharply pointed crystal award home on the plane. At least, that’s what we think he said.