GIORGIO ARMANI: THE GENIUS ON DISPLAY IN PARMA
At the Abbey of Valserena, over 100 original works drawn from materials donated by the designer to the CSAC in the 1980s.
The genius and creativity of Giorgio Armani on display in Parma, at the Abbey of Valserena, from 13 December 2025 to 15 February 2026. A comprehensive tribute organised by the University of Parma and CSAC – the University’s Centre for Studies and Communication Archives.
The exhibition is entitled Giorgio Armani Archivio CSAC and brings together over one hundred original works selected from the more than 8,000 items that make up the Giorgio Armani Collection, personally donated by the designer to the CSAC in the 1980s. Drawings, sketches and design materials belonging to the vast heritage preserved in the Media-Fashion section of the Centre, an exceptional collection of testimonies that allows visitors to retrace the formative years and the evolution of the creative language of one of the most iconic figures in Italian fashion worldwide.
In addition to the original materials on display, there will be a selection of press articles dedicated to Armani’s meteoric rise on the international fashion scene and his early relationships with Hollywood. The exhibition will also feature posters from the two films that marked the designer’s definitive consecration in the world of cinema: Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, in which Diane Keaton won an Oscar in 1978 wearing an Armani suit for the first time, and Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo, the film that revolutionised men’s fashion in 1980 thanks to the wardrobe created by the designer for the protagonist played by Richard Gere.
With this exhibition, CSAC continues its tribute to Giorgio Armani, who passed away on 4 September, offering the public the opportunity to discover the origins of a style destined to influence generations. The designs on display – fashion sketches, drawings and preparatory studies created using mixed techniques – convey the essence of Armani’s talent through his early works preserved in the Archive and dating from between 1975 and 1980. The representation of the female figure and the choice of materials express a new attitude, combining freedom of movement, elegance and awareness. Soft lines and flowing fabrics alternate with more structured materials, in a balance of contrasts that characterises the designer’s entire production.
Armani’s graphic style gave rise to slender female figures inspired by the figurative culture of the 1930s and the graphic sensibility of illustrators such as Guido Crepax; dresses conceived as fluid structures, where flowing fabrics interact with more substantial materials; the birth of the famous women’s suit and unstructured jacket, destined to become symbols of Armani’s new elegance. The exhibition also reveals the transformation of men’s fashion: softer lines, fabrics far removed from classic rigidity in an innovative vision that anticipates the almost interchangeability of men’s and women’s wardrobes, where gender codes intertwine and are redefined.
Giorgio Armani Archive CSAC
13 December 2025 – 15 February 2026
CSAC – Centre for Studies and Archive of Communication
University of Parma | Abbey of Valserena
Viazza di Paradigna 1, Parma
Opening hours: Friday 9am-3pm | Saturday and Sunday 10am-7pm
Contact details: servizimuseali@csacparma.it
