The Armani Group is pleased to announce the opening today of a new Giorgio Armani boutique in São Paulo, Brazil. Located inside the Villa Daslu mall, the boutique is divided into two stores, one dedicated to menswear on the second floor and one to womenswear on the ground floor. Together they cover over 380 square metres at Avenida Chedid Jafet n° 131, Vila Olimpia in São Paulo.
Giorgio Armani, together with a team of in-house architects, designed the new boutique following the image of the recently opened Giorgio Armani boutiques in Taipei, Palm Beach and Shanghai to create a modern, timeless, but at the same time accessible environment for Armani's collections. The interior of the two retail spaces dedicated to the Giorgio Armani women's and men's apparel and accessory collections is entirely finished in natural cotton canvas panelling – the new signature element of the boutique. This takes the place of the St. Maximine stone that has traditionally been the trademark of the Giorgio Armani boutiques. The natural cotton canvas fabric is horizontally pleated over panels that are joined to cover the high walls of the boutique. These contrast with the columns which are plated with stainless steel. The display tables and counters are intentionally stretched horizontally to counter-balance the verticality of the columns and are made of dark wood, as is the floor. This is further enhanced by the lighting design which plays with shadow and light creating focal areas and sensations. Invisible recessed lamps, transformed into spotlights, trace the contours or aim directly at the garments and objects on display, while versatile light fixtures appear to blend in with the surrounding space.
Giorgio Armani said "I'm always looking to create an environment where the store architecture supports the presentation of the collections in a way that is modern and accessible for our customers. The new São Paulo boutique is an example of this philosophy."
The Armani Group is one of the leading fashion and luxury goods groups in the world today with 4,800 direct employees and 13 factories. It designs, manufactures, distributes and retails fashion and lifestyle products including apparel, accessories, eyewear, watches, jewellery, home interiors, fragrances and cosmetics under a range of brand names: Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, AJ | Armani Jeans, A/X Armani Exchange, Armani Junior and Armani Casa. The Group's exclusive retail network currently comprises: 63 Giorgio Armani boutiques, 11 Armani Collezioni stores, 133 Emporio Armani stores, 87 A/X Armani Exchange stores, 18 AJ | Armani Jeans stores, 6 Armani Junior stores, 1 Giorgio Armani Accessori store and 20 Armani Casa stores in 39 countries.