Giorgio Armani, The New York Times and Economic Theorems

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Giorgio ArmaniMILAN, Feb 20, 2008 / FW/ — Only in the fashion world that a healthy love-hate relationship can exist and all protagonists can kiss & make up within the next 3-6 months as if nothing happened.  The latest incident, Cathy Horyn, Fashion Editor of the New York Times was ‘exiled’ from the Giorgio Armani show yesterday.

For those who are new in the fashion shows, here is a basic premise that everyone follows. All shows are BY INVITATION ONLY. The designer and/or the design house via its PR office send out invitations to the press, buyers, and friends and family of the designer or the maison.

That said, because it is an ‘invitation’, you can get ‘un-invited’ at the last minute (like what happened to Cathy Horyn who received her Giorgio Armani invitation, but was ‘un-invited via a personal note just before the show) or, NOT GET INVITED in the next season.

Though the relationship between fashion houses and the press is symbiotic, sometimes personalities clash, hence the ‘exile’ and the ‘bans’ that of course usually last only six months, a year at the most.

With Cathy Horyn’s banishment from Giorgio Armani explained, where does the ‘economic theorems’ come in? For that, we have to go back several seasons and mention another writer from the New York Times, Guy Trebay, whose review of Emporio Armani Menswear Spring 2005 collection was entitled ‘The Theory of the Leisure Class’, a literal take from the famous 1899 book by Thorstein Veblen wherein the phrases “conspicuous consumption” and “conspicuous leisure” were coined.

From all accounts, Giorgio Armani did not appreciate Guy Trebay’s comments in his review of the collection, so Mr. Trebay was also ‘banished’ for the next season and Giorgio Armani S.p.A. pulled approximately $1 million in advertising from the New York Times.

Whether, it is just one of those ‘twists of fate’ or ‘just a mere coincidence’, Emporio Armani Fall 2008 collection was a seeming treatise on the Nash Equilibrium economic theory. Way back in 2004, for the Emporio Armani Menswear Spring 2005 collection, the title of the FashionWindows article was ‘The Theory of the Leisure Class”.

Perhaps it’s just a fluke, but, for those who believe in oracles, it seems that whenever Giorgio Armani does a treatise on an economic theory, the New York Times and the Italian design maestro are on opposite ends of the table.
Now, don’t take this observation seriously, because it’s just one of those things that happen during the fashion season. To the fashion set, it’s just another day at the office.  And truth be told, most of the time, everyone are so good-natured about things in general that when things like this occur, everyone just smile because everyone knows that they will kiss and make up anyway.

So, what about the Giorgio Armani Fall 2008 collection? Entitled ‘Free-spirited’, the collection lived up to its name as Armani’s inspirations were obviously eclectic as he used a wide-range of colors, lots of different fabric and varied his silhouettes from slim to loose fitting, structured to fluid, from formal to romantic.