Leo Dell’Orco: the memory of Giorgio Armani, love, illness

Almost five months after the death of Giorgio Armani on September 4th, Milan kicks off Fashion Week for the first time without its founder. The continuity of the brand is today entrusted to Leo Dell’Orco73 years old, the stylist’s historic life and work partner. In a long interview with Corriere della Serathe head of the men’s collections indulged in the memory of Armani, retracing moments of life together and the terrible days of his illness, also finding space to talk about his relationship with sport. “It was a great story. Beautiful and tough“.

The words of Leo Dell’Orco

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“The first period was strange, I missed it. Then I got used to it, I’m calm now“, said Leo Dell’Orco. “At home I left everything as it was and I’m on my side, I’m not on his side: since that day I haven’t touched anything, I don’t like it.” Dell’Orco continued: “It was difficult for Giorgio to give direct responsibilities to us. He was always there. Today we all realize that we learned to be and decide“.

Giorgio Armani, the relationship with work

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“His life was beautiful,” Dell’Orco said. “She was the one who wanted to live. And it was work, which was also his hobby. It never stopped. I, for example, lock myself in my safe room with my watches when I can. I go there, calmly, I look at them, I clean them. I distract myself and relax. I like. Not him. I tried to make him understand that occasionally distancing himself and seeking satisfaction elsewhere would be good for him. But he liked that. And he was happy. Rightly so.” And again: “No one will be able to replicate what he did, no one will or will be able to become him.”

Leo Dell’Orco’s passion for sport

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Giorgio Armani’s longevity and energy were based on an iron discipline, a philosophy of life that Leo Dell’Orco still embraces today. “Perhaps it was also the secret of his longevity: a healthy life, marked by diet and sleep,” explained Dell’Orco. “Like him, I wake up at 8, coffee and gym. I read the newspapers with the addition of Gazzetta dello Sportwhich is my passion“.

“I’m a Milan fan and I don’t miss a match. But I follow all football, including international football. And Formula 1, tennis, cycling… I’m proud of the relationship with CONI and now of the Winter Olympics.”

Dell’Orco’s meeting with Armani

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Fashion was not initially among Leo Dell’Orco’s priorities. But after meeting Giorgio Armani, twenty years older, everything changed. “I was a technical designer, but I wanted to work in advertising,” he explained. Then a walk in the gardens of Piazzale Libia, in Milan, turned his career upside down. “I was 22 years old, and I was with a friend. […] We meet this dog who was walking around alone. We are looking for the master, it was Giorgio. He thanks us and invites us to drink at his house because he lived nearby. We accepted but my friend Gabriele said to me ‘Do you know who he is? George?’. I looked at him amazed: ‘No, who is he?’. […] Then two days later we met him in the car, in Viale Montenero. It was early September and so he asked us if we were there wanted to parade for him“. For two years Leo Dell’Orco alternated work in Snam with that of a model, before the final decision: “In the family, they were satisfied. When I resigned they didn’t understand: leave a safe place for fashion. Now they are happy, I must say.”

The disease

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“I was always calm with him”, confided Dell’Orco. “At least until he got sick. At that moment it was very hard. I went to sleep at night not knowing if I would find him the next morning. He immediately realized that this time he couldn’t do it. He told me: ‘I don’t want to anymore’. And I replied to him: ‘No, Giorgio, you have to be strong’. In recent times he has begun to deal with the aftermath and our serenity. He wanted to plan everything.”

Before his death, the designer defined every detail of the future of the fashion house with extreme precision. Meticulous business planning that left nothing undone: “We were surprised by how thought of everything. Even on unexpected topics that I still have to reflect on, knowing that I have an important decision-making role.” The provisions for operational continuity now see Dell’Orco and Silvana Armani at the helm of the creative divisions, according to the structure desired by the founder himself: “We have Silvana for the women’s collections and I for the men’s collections. He decided it. Not without asking, always: ‘Even if you’re okay: can you do it Leo? Are you having fun?’. ‘Of course, calmly’. I replied. Silvana had moments of hesitation but then she took his path with great determinationshe made herself responsible; she wants to show that she exists and that she can do it on her own. And it will be like this.”

The last farewell to Giorgio Armani

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The most difficult moment for Leo Dell’Orco was that of farewell during the two days of the funeral home. “Seeing all those people and the good shown and the respect. It’s so true: he was the people’s stylist. However, I wouldn’t have thought of so much participation. We were undecided until the end, but then it seemed necessary. He would have loved.”