Over the course of a fifty-year career, Giorgio Armani’s sleek design sensibility has embodied the rise of Italy’s fashion and economic capital. Most of us can still recall when we first encountered Armani style, the signature drape of his clothing, the louchely elegant jackets, the color he defined as “greige.”
For me, it was the opening night of American Gigolo, a sold-out screening in San Francisco. There had been rumors for weeks about Richard Gere’s nude scene but the 1980 film became far more revolutionary for its impact on men’s fashion. It was a film that propelled both Armani and Gere into the stratosphere where Armani remained throughout his career.
It’s easy to imagine Armani on Milan’s grand Piazza del Duomo where the city’s 14th-century cathedral, constructed entirely of marble, flanked by Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy’s oldest and most opulent shopping arcade. And you can easily imagine Armani strolling across the piazza toward Teatro alla Scala, Milan’s 18th-century opera house. It was Armani’s genius to fuse Milan’s three most notable landmarks into an Italian business model that manifested the intersection of the ecclesiastical, the mercantile, and the dramatic.
That sense of drama is immediately apparent upon entry at Armani Hotel Milano where guests are greeted at reception seven floors above the city. It was Armani’s objective to create an entrance that rose above the quotidian and lifted guests into the ethereal. Armani spent a lifetime creating red carpet entrances, and guests who enter Armani Hotel Milano are guaranteed their catwalk across the hotel’s polished marble floors.
Armani Hotel Milano is the second of Armani’s hotels, the first opened in 2010 in Dubai in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. For his hotel in Milan, Armani chose a classic 1937 building designed by the Italian Rationalist architect Enrico A. Griffini. Armani designed a dramatic two-story glass addition that rises atop the building like a panoramic conservatory. Throughout the day, the play of sunlight and shadows create a cinematic chiaroscuro setting for guests while the unobstructed views offer a bird’s-eye perspective on the city skyline. One of the many marvels of this glass structure is evident only from an aerial view which reveals Armani’s signature A.
Armani Hotel Milano Spa (photo courtesy of Armani Hotels)
Centrally located in the heart of Quadrilatero della Moda, Milan’s fashion district, Armani Hotel Milano welcomes guests with a personalized host and concierge known as a Lifestyle Manager who arranges customized spa treatments, personal trainers, dinner reservations, and tickets to special events. After an overnight flight from the States, the choice was breakfast or a treatment at Armani/Spa. I chose both. Located on the hotel’s top floor, Armani/Spa overlooks the city with a relaxation pool and personalized treatments from professional massage therapists. At breakfast, I filled my plate with buffalo mozzarella which I slathered on Italian breads, followed by Italian dolci. Restraint is not an option when eating in Milan.
Armani loved Milan’s Brera neighborhood for its bohemian charms and vibrant street life. Imagine an amalgam of Paris’ Montmartre and London’s Bloomsbury, buzzing with a variety of caffès and boutiques, galleries and ristorantes. Armani Hotel Milano is a short stroll away from Pinacoteca di Brera where 120 of Armani’s creations are displayed amidst the museum’s collection of Italian paintings that span the 13th to the 20th century.
Giorgio Armani Milano, Per Amore Pinacoteca di Brera (photo credit GettyImages)
For the first time since Pinacoteca’s opening in 1809, painting and fashion are juxtaposed to highlight fashion’s role in shaping cultural and aesthetic narratives. As you wander through the galleries, it becomes increasingly apparent how Armani drew upon the history of Italian fashion for his own creations. The exhibition features numerous dresses and suits worn by Armani’s many celebrity ambassadors. True fashion aficionados will be inclined to play Name That Star before reading the placards that detail the backstory behind the garments. And yes, Richard Gere’s gigolo sport coat is included.
For a 21st-century viewpoint on Milan, Porta Nuova is Milan’s high-tech center, home to Italy’s highest skyscraper and some of Milan’s most exclusive residential towers. What was previously a neighborhood of industrial wastelands and obsolete railroads was transformed in the late 1990s into a $2.5 billion mixed-used district of star-chitecture. The widely acclaimed Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) is a two-tower residential and office complex, notable for its vertical façade planted with 5,000 shrubs and more than 800 trees. On the short walk back to Armani Hotel Milano, visitors pass through Corso Como, a neighborhood widely celebrated for its nightlife and entertainment options.
At the base of the block-long Armani Hotel Milano, Emporio Armani beckons like a siren with its own ristorante and Caffè Milan. On the opposite corner of the building, there’s a NOBU restaurant with an underground private members club. In addition to the hotel’s 95 rooms and suites, Armani Hotel Milano features an in-house florist known as Armani/Fiori as well as a well-curated bookstore, all of which are elegant exemplars of Armani’s clean minimalism.
The hotel’s expansive junior suites are sleek urban spaces which include a circular vestibule with its own curvilinear pocket door. There’s also a separate living room with Juliet balcony, a king-sized bedroom with adjoining walk-in closet, and a spa bathroom. Rooms are furnished in Armani’s signature “greige” with polished surfaces, lustrous textiles, and iPad room controls for lighting, windows, draperies, in-room dining, and concierge. The marble bathrooms are large enough for yoga practice while the soaking tub and rainforest shower could easily host a thruple.
In the evenings, well-heeled Milanese gather at Armani/Bamboo Bar where Armani’s signature A floats atop the ice in the house’s white Negroni. At Armani/Ristorante, twilight glistens across an onyx checkered floor that recalls the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. There’s elegance in the air as the city lights sparkle.
As for the food, as Executive Chef Francesco Mascheroni states, “I cook what I like to eat: traditional recipes…inspired by international cuisine but drawing on Italy’s gastronomic heritage.” A perfect example is the chef’s tajarin pasta dish, a tangle of noodles rich with egg yolks and sea urchin and nori seaweed. For dessert, it was tiramisu with mascarpone ganache, whipped white chocolate, and meringue. After such delicious decadence, a plate of Italian confections and friandises seems almost unnecessary, but, like me, you’ll probably eat them all anyway.
Armani Hotel Milano Lounge (photo courtesy of Armani Hotels)
In keeping with its high levels of service and hospitality, Armani Hotel Milano is a Legend member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts. For those guests seeking a legendary experience in Milan, Armani Hotel Milano and Preferred Hotels & Resorts have created Tailored by Armani: A Dream in Design which offers front-row access to an Armani fashion show along with a private fitting at the Armani atelier, as well as a three-night stay for two guests in the Presidential Suite at Armani Hotel Milano. The exclusive experience includes spa treatments, signature cocktails, and an in-suite dinner for two created by chef Mascheroni. It’s the sort of once-in-a-lifetime gift designed for that extra nice and naughty person in your life.
As I wandered through Quadrilatero della Moda on my last night in Milan, I marveled at how the city has evolved since my first visit as a university student. Back then, Armani was just getting started and now his touch is evident throughout the city. His life serves as a reminder for all of us to follow our dreams.
Last modified: December 2, 2025
