Legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani just passed away, age 91, so we're taking a look back at how the fashion juggernaut became a household name in the first place.
American Gigolo is the kind of film whose legacy has been defined as much by its aesthetic as its plot. Released in 1980, it sees charming sex worker Julian Kaye (played by Richard Gere) whip around Beverly Hills in a Merc convertible, decked out in suave linen suits.
Gere’s costuming was designed by none other than Giorgio Armani, who, at the time, was a designer less than half a decade into his career, who was starting to gain traction with fashion fanatics and celebrities.
Although Gere and Armani may seem like predestined collaborators, Giorgio originally became involved in the film due to John Travolta, who, hot off the heels of Grease’s success, was set to play Julian. Travolta’s manager recommended Giorgio to director Paul Schrader on a hunch that he was about to blow up, then, when Travolta eventually dropped out, they re-tailored the clothes for Gere.
As is often the case in well-costumed films, the clothing became a character in and of itself (Alongside LA itself). One of the opening scenes sees Julien getting fitted out at the tailors; another sees him assembling outfits from his brimming closet after doing a bump of cocaine, rivalling the infamous closet scene in American Psycho. A later scene sees Julian amusingly advise the detective investigating him on how to dress to attract women.
Gere’s loose-fitting linens and open shirts communicated the effortlessness of the protagonist: everything comes easy to him, especially women, while the linens (which take the place of the heavy cottons that were popular at the time), were appropriate for LA’s sunny climbs. And as Julian’s plight gets more desperate, his ensembles become more and more unkempt. “The way you look now, you couldn’t get a maid to f*ck you,” remarks the film’s madame character.
And the costumes struck a chord: they popularised loose-fitting tailoring and neutral shades in the place of the formal, dark-coloured suiting that had dominated up to that point, and sparked a sea change on Savile Row, with people opting for silk, linen, and Italian cotton.
The film also marked one of the first times a fashion house collaborated with a movie, setting the stage for what would become a longstanding (and lucrative) partnership between Hollywood and fashion (it's hard to imagine what Challengers would’ve been like without Jonathan Anderson, or Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet without the costumes by Miuccia Prada). In the decades since, Armani has gone on to fit out characters in over 200 films, from The Untouchables to The Wolf of Wall Street.
Most importantly, by bringing Armani to the world stage, American Gigolo changed the course of menswear to this day.
Featured image via Getty©
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