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“I Fear Chaos And Unruliness”: Giorgio Armani Talks Satisfaction, Sailing And Sustainability

From the flybridge of Maín , I can see Giorgio Armani and his navy-clad entourage zigzagging their way down Portofino’s narrow quay, one picture request at a time. On a July day, just before his 85th birthday, the designer has been chauffeured from Milan to the Italian Riviera, where his superyacht awaits him. Last night, she glided into the marina in all her army-green starkness, casting a formidable shadow over our Aperol spritz-dotted café tables like a solar eclipse. Now, she’s moored in the tiny tourist paradise, bigger than any hillside palazzo or nearby vessel – a constant gaggle of gobsmacked onlookers anchored at her stern.

Read more: Giorgio Armani Is Still Making Up His Own Rules

“I wanted it to look like a military boat,” Armani admits, now embarked and enthroned on a sizeable greige sofa on the lower deck of the boat that he has owned since 2008. Every corner of his self-made empire is run with utmost discipline, earning him astronomical wealth as a result. With his stint in the army during the 1950s, working at the Verona military hospital, it’s easy to imagine where a tendency for precision and control might stem from. “I fear chaos and unruliness,” he says. “Structure allows me to move freely and productively, because I can monitor everything.”

Soon, Maín will take Armani to Saint-Tropez and Pantelleria, where two of the nine houses he has tailored for himself are situated. “I don’t like other people’s homes and I don’t like hotels, so there’s no other option,” he says, speaking through an interpreter. “I want this boat for the rest of my life, or for what remains of it.” Armani isn’t oblivious to the passage of time. He is far too controlling of his surroundings for that kind of denial. “Time flies,” he reflects, contemplating his birthday. “Especially in my line of work. It takes you fully, so it always seems you’re about to leave for somewhere.” For years, the industry has wondered just what will happen to his company – of which he remains the sole shareholder – the day the living embodiment of Giorgio Armani is no more. Speculation has pointed to Leo Dell’Orco, his right-hand man and close friend, who joins Giorgio on the yacht along with Roberta Armani, his niece and brand ambassador; or perhaps Stefano Pilati, who worked for him in the 1990s and went on to become head of design at Yves Saint Laurent? “I think Stefano is extremely skilled and a designer with an elegant touch. He is not in my succession plan, though,” Armani counters.

“I don’t want to name names and play this game. Rest assured that the succession plan is prepared in a fair manner.” Invincibly poker-faced, Mr Armani – as he is addressed –maintains an impressive balance between intimidating and charming. He elaborates that a foundation has been established “consistent with the principles that are particularly important to me and that have always inspired my work”. At this week’s Fashion Awards in London, Armani received the Outstanding Achievement Award in recognition of his almost half-century of impact in the industry – since founding his empire in 1975, alongside his late partner Sergio Galeotti.

Following Karl Lagerfeld’s death last February, Armani is the oldest working designer in the business; some might think without equal, but not he. “Authors with a strong vision and an unremitting voice are those I admire and consider my peers: John Galliano, Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood,” he offers. “I like designers who stick to their guns, no matter the vogues du moment . I love designers who work on shapes and silhouettes rather than decoration.”

Maín was the affectionate nickname of Armani’s beloved mother, Maria, when she was little, and her other pet name, Mariù , graced his previous yacht. Rumour has it he replaced it with Maín when Valentino Garavani acquired a boat longer than his. ( Maín comes in at just more than 200ft, Valentino’s at some 150ft.) The competitive grandeur of fashion’s icons has become the stuff of legend, but their generation shares values perhaps less fundamental to a new guard of designers. “I respected Karl and admired his work. I was saddened by his passing. Karl had a vision, and today his is a priceless example,” Armani says. “You must have a vision if you are going to do anything meaningful – a vision you believe in and express consistently.”

You can’t fault Armani for sticking to those beliefs. His shows are primarily presented in the famed Armani Teatro, his Milanese runway room. If they relocate (recent destinations include Milan’s Linate airport, the Tokyo National Museum and Paris’s Petit Palais) the layout always remains: Italian monumental modernism morphed with Japanese wabi-sabi, a style that is reflected in every store, hotel, home and, indeed, yacht. “Natural, sophisticated, timeless,” as he defines it.

“Everything I do stems from a great passion combined with an almost maniacal attention to detail,” he admits. “My vision of style is crystal clear and perfectly formed, and is reflected in everything that bears my name.” He still oversees each of his 11 seasonal collections, foregoes show stylists in favour of his own finishing touch, and sticks to a unique cast of models. In Armani’s world, everything stays within the same frames. So much so, that a cheeky new generation of show-goers used to joke that his spotlit bows on the in-house runway were in fact holograms. On second thought, of course, he is too much of a perfectionist to risk it.

At sea, his personal routine remains intact: breakfast at 7am, followed by personal training, evenings spent playing cards or in front of the television. He loved Chernobyl and The Crown , disliked Money Heist , and didn’t do Game of Thrones (isn’t into fantasy). Like anyone, he enjoys a trip to the beach. On her voyages, Maín drops anchor off the coast from uncrowded beaches, where crew members will erect a mise-en-scène of deck chair, parasol and cooling bag filled with fruit and water. Armani arrives by chaloupe at 10am and leaves at noon, in time to change for lunch back on the yacht.

The designer’s love of nature is reflected in his show notes, which often muse on the elements. “We all have to do our duty to save the planet,” he told me backstage at September’s Giorgio Armani show, titled Earth. “The industry needs to take measures.” His summer on the yacht may pose a paradox to that idea but in the age of climate change and sustainability, Armani’s approach is as practical as ever. Small steps include recycling seats and fixtures from his shows, reusing the same dresses for Cate Blanchett on the red carpet, and famously checking if his employees turn off the lights before leaving the office. On a much bigger level, Armani recently signed the Fashion Pact, a G7 initiative to increase environmental protection in the industry. And, above all, his work is rooted in an anti-disposable philosophy of timelessness.

Read more: How Giorgio Armani Shaped The Red Carpet As We Know It

“Water? Coffee?” he offers as we sit down. “Vodka?” He used to drink a shot before each show, but since surviving a serious liver condition a decade ago, he isn’t only teetotal but vegetarian, too. These days, he only indulges a sweet tooth, although his guests are encouraged to frequent the bar on the lower deck. Despite his regal tendencies, Armani clearly loves company. And yet, since the death of Galeotti, he hasn’t disclosed details of any romances. The couple never had children. Not surprisingly, Armani’s bedroom occupies the biggest cabin on the yacht, but every facility within it is intended for one. Decorated in custom Armani Casa furniture, Maín is manned by a crew of 14, uniformed in navy Bermuda shorts and beige polo shirts embellished with her logo. Armani’s favourites seem to be Fabrizio and Simone, who could be George Clooney’s stunt doubles. Dress codes are obligatory for all passengers. Rings are prohibited as they scratch the finishes. Shoes are strictly forbidden, although the black slippers I “borrowed” from the Armani Hotel in Milan a few nights before pass his inspection.

The design of the hotel’s sci-fi, mechanical metal shutters was inspired by the yacht’s. Armani’s eyes are intolerant to strong sunlight, a fact borne out by the crew’s constant flipping of shutters or rigging of black net blinds as he moves around the decks in his signature navy top and trouser combo, shoeless, in just a pair of white socks that sport his imperial Emporio Armani eagle. “I have developed a pragmatic uniform that makes me look and feel like a dedicated fashion worker,” he explains. In his ateliers, interns are expected to adapt. Armani’s devotion to structure and procedure paints a stark contrast to the contemporary idea of creative freedom. But he never pandered to zeitgeists. When, in 2017, I asked his thoughts on Demna Gvasalia’s new take on the broad-shouldered boardroom feminism Armani pioneered in the 1980s, he said that “women don’t need that in order to be credible anymore”. But are octogenarian magnate designers really that unaffected by waves of relevance? “Relevance is a quality that others give to you. One cannot self-crown himself relevant,” Armani retorts. “This said, judging from the sales, yes, I still am.”

He is utterly compelling, irresistibly sure of himself and timelessly handsome. When, at his haute couture show last January, I complimented the iceberg-sized diamond pin that pierced the buttonhole of his midnight-blue velvet tuxedo, he smiled cheekily and told me it wasn’t the biggest one in his collection. It’s the kind of fabulousness that can transcend questions of relevance, even to the millennial eyes now all-important in fashion. “Authenticity is and will always be relevant, not least because it is becoming rarer and rarer. Without authenticity, in fact, everything fails,” Armani argues, echoing a mantra attributed to those young generations. “Millennials have been commodified. I do not like the way the system talks about them, but I acknowledge the power of the new generations,” he says. “I look at them, for sure, and I try to interact, but the generational gap is enormous. I am fine with this. What I propose to young customers stems from a personal observation of their very fascinating world.”

Does Giorgio Armani use the internet? “Yes, to read the news and to send emails. Still, I prefer a written note and a printed paper.” Would he ever set up a personal Instagram profile? “I have a very reserved character, and I’ve always protected my private life. Besides, I don’t want to be influenced by influencers!” Is he concerned about the lynch mob mentality that comes with social media? “I think this watchdog culture has gone too far, honestly. We need to be very careful and consider everything, of course, but public shaming is the opposite of progress, and I am more interested in that than anything else.”

What about the broader political climate? “This is not the best historic moment. We are living in very divisive times. As a child of another era, I have always had a firm belief in advancement, but the current moment is possibly proving me wrong.” When you’re the king of your own castle, however, who cares about populist politicians.

As darkness falls, the yacht drifts out of Portofino like a samurai in the night, a lonely giant among dwarfs. Armani has a Saint-Tropez birthday party to get to. He is the last of the unicorns, but for all his structures and self-imposed solitude at the top, he tells me he is happy. “I am. But I am never fully satisfied with myself, so I think I could have done more.”

Taking in the unfathomable grandeur of the world he has created for himself, I wonder if he ever longs for a more conventional life, a companion, even children? “Just sometimes. Then again, if I look at what I have built, I see it is a lot,” Armani says. “I don’t really suffer regret, as it is a fairly pointless feeling. However, if I were to relive my life, I’d spend more time with my loved ones.”

This article was originally published in the January 2020 issue of British Vogue.

More from British Vogue:

Giorgio Armani’s $60 million superyacht looks like a chic warship – The 213 feet long vessel flaunts a military green exterior, a cinema, gym, and interiors by the icon himself.

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Pigments of the imagination: The most colourful superyacht exteriors

Think all superyachts are white? Think again. We take a look at some of the most eye-catching exteriors from around the world, from the golden-hulled Stefania to the jet-black O'Pati ...

The design of Dynamiq superyacht Stefania was inspired by the art-deco style of the roaring twenties, and her gilded exterior wholeheartedly embraces this modern take on a golden age theme. According to Maria Dobroserdova, Dynamiq sales director, the owner initially considered both white and grey paints, but ultimately concluded that the metallic gold from DuPont, paired with a white superstructure, worked best with the lines and interior of the 41 metre superyacht. This gilt colour scheme continues throughout her interiors, interspersed with splashes of oceanic blue. 

More about this yacht

Mondomarine ’s new 50 metre superyacht Ipanema turned heads when she was launched in June 2016, with her striking red hull by Hot Lab  setting her apart from the traditional white-hulled crowd. The Italian yard said that the exterior design was "enriched by the magnificent colour combinations attributed to the owner’s exquisite taste”.

The 77 metre flagship of   Damen Yachting’s new SeaXplorer range , La Datcha is a rugged explorer that nonethless exudes glamour. Her strengthened hull has been designed to withstand icy waters in Kamchatka or Antarctica, but is coated in bronzed layer of paint. The theme of fire was reportedly a particularly important aspect of the design for the owner and this is reflected in the golden shades of the hull as well as the presence of on-board fireplaces .

Explorer yacht K584 sports a military look with her gunmetal silver hull. But a pop of colour is interjected in the bright crimson arrowhead which decorates the bow and which is a recurring shade throughout her interior and exterior design. Launched in 2020 , the 36.6 metre superyacht Is the first by Italian shipyard CPN .

Launched in 2018, Turquoise's new 77 metre flagship GO was designed inside and out by British studio H2 Yacht Design with a hull colour that pays tribute to the yard's name. “The turquoise is a theme that’s carried through the yacht,” says Ruth Thomas from H2 . “The design concept of the yacht is based on water in motion, so shades of turquoise made sense.” Accommodation is for a total of 18 guests split across nine cabins with crew quarters for a staff of 20. Key features include an owner's deck, 162 square metre superyacht beach club and a garage big enough to store a 10 metre limousine and eight metre multi-purpose tender.

The Amels 55 metre Limited Editions 180 series Nomad sports a bespoke colour scheme specified by the owner and designed in collaboration with exterior design Tim Heywood and the Amels in-house design team. The blue hull and anthracite grey superstructure emphasise the "long times of the bridge and sundecks," according to the yard. Standout features include a 190 square metre sundeck, bridge deck sun lounge and main deck owner's suite.

The dazzling pearlescent gold finish of 49 metre Palmer Johnson  PJ265 yacht  Khalilah is just one of the things that makes her a futuristic superyacht. When she was launched in 2015, she was believed to be the largest yacht in the world built entirely out of carbon fibre. What’s more, her radical, angular hull design allows for a 30-knot top speed and exceptional stability and comfort without the need for fins or gyro stabilisers.

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At the beginning of 2020, charter favourite Axioma was spotted sporting a brand new Caribbean-sea blue hull, a far cry from her previously understated dove grey exterior. Onboard highlights include a beach house-style interior by the late Alberto Pinto with a huge aft swimming pool. 

Nature is the key theme of the 62 metre Feadship superyacht Sea Owl , which features a deep forest green finish on her topsides and matching custom tenders. This theme is carried through to her interiors, which were created by British studio Winch Design and feature intricate murals depicting Charles Darwin's voyage on board HMS Beagle .

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Quinta essentia.

The deep ruby red colour of 55 metre Admiral superyacht Quinta Essentia is a tribute to her owner's favourite tipple, Tuscan Merlot. Swirling the wine in a glass produces tones similar to the accent colour that underlines architectural features on the hull and superstructure. This sophisticated exterior design was created by the  Dobroserdov Design studio.

Image credit: Emilio Bianchi

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The Army's Little-Known Boat Fleet Is Getting a Big Upgrade

While the Navy ’s struggle to build out new ship classes for future conflicts makes headlines, the Army is quietly revamping its own little-known fleet – one that has at times had more vessels than the Navy’s, albeit smaller ones.

In October, the Army launched the first prototype of the new Maneuver Support Vessel (Light), or MSV(L), a cargo watercraft that’s set to become the service’s newest boat class. The 117-foot MSV(L), made by Vigor Industrial, has been in development since 2017 when the  Army inked a $980 million, 10-year contract with the company. It’s set to replace the Army’s less-capable Vietnam-era Landing Craft Mechanized-8 (LCM-8), which is nearing the end of its service life. And it’s getting ready to enter service as the Army anticipates needing its boats more than ever before.

General Charles Flynn, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, told an audience at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting in October that the service is working to activate more vessels in the region to support Pacific-based Army Prepositioned Stocks, or warfighting gear stockpiles that stand ready for combat. He added that the Army likely needed more boat companies to meet the logistics challenges of supporting allies in the Pacific and establishing a presence through its Pacific Pathways initiative, which promotes exercises with regional allies.

“There are some sustainment capabilities that we’re going to need … so that we can create conditions for operational endurance of the joint force,” General Flynn said. “We need more composite watercraft companies. So that’s why we’re wargaming … to find out where those gaps are, so that we can go back to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense and say, ‘Hey, here are the gaps.’”

An All-Around Better Boat

MSV(L) can carry 82 short tons of cargo compared to LCM-8’s 60, according to Regina Rogers, product manager, Army Watercraft Systems, PEO Combat Support & Combat Service Support. That’s enough, officials said, to carry one combat-configured M1 Abrams tank, two Stryker combat vehicles, or four Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.

MSV(L) can travel at 21 knots, or 24 miles per hour, with a full load; LCM-8 can reach only nine knots. And its range is an impressive 360 nautical miles, almost double LCM-8’s 190-mile range.

Perhaps most impressively, MSV(L) is able to operate safely with a full cargo load in conditions up to Sea State 3, which entails choppy waves at heights up to four feet. This makes it more useful and effective in littoral regions and narrow waterways, increasing its value in the Pacific.

“The MSV(L) utilizes a triple waterjet configuration which significantly enhances maneuverability in shallow water,” Rogers said in a statement provided to Sandboxx.

The new support vessel will also feature a new crew configuration. Instead of LCM-8’s single four-member crew, it will have two crews of four, for a total of eight. This allows the new vessel’s crew to support operations around the clock and perform functions that didn’t exist when the LCM-8 entered service, like cyber ops, digital intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and operation of MSV(L)’s new-and-improved weapons systems.

While LCM-8s are mounted with 2 .50-caliber M2 Browning machine guns, MSV(L) will have two remotely operated weapons stations, each capable of accommodating a .50-cal or a Mark-19 40mm automatic grenade launcher, according to a report from Naval News .

The Army Needs Its Boats

This is the first boat the Army has acquired in more than two decades, officials said. The service has 132 cargo and logistics watercraft, and several thousand soldiers tasked with manning and operating them. By comparison, the Navy now has 242 active ships in commission, according to the U.S. Naval Vessel Register. While the Army’s fleet has dwindled in recent years, it once had about 300 hulls in service .

In 2019,  the Army moved to divest a significant number of its vessels , moving about half of its Landing Craft Utility platforms to mothballs and closing down eight reserve boat units. These plans were paused later that year after Congress intervened and called for a study on the effort.

In 2021, the service’s attitude toward its boats appeared to shift. Two Army officers leading the service’s 87th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion published a “lessons learned” essay on Army.mil describing how they oversaw a 56-day, 10,000 nautical mile voyage of two logistics support vessels that included a Suez Canal transit. It was the first LSV transoceanic voyage in U.S. Central Command, they said, since 2011.

“This new shift of Army watercraft allocation is being driven by adapting to large-scale combat operations (LSCO) and the National Defense Strategy,” they wrote.

With up to 36 MSV(L) boats set to enter the fleet amid a newfound appreciation for the capability, Army officials are hailing the prototype launch milestone.

“Launching the MSV(L) prototype, a brand-new, first-in-class vessel is a major achievement for us to celebrate,” Colonel Beth Behn, the Army’s chief of transportation, said in a statement .

MSV(L) is next set to enter builder’s trials, followed by the Army’s extended acceptance testing process that will include dockside and underway tests to ensure the aluminum vessels meet contract requirements, Rogers said.

The Army expects to make a low-rate initial production decision early next year, and take delivery of the first MSV(L) prototype at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA, headquarters for Army mariners, in 2024.

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Army activates first overseas watercraft unit in decades

The Army recently activated its first composite watercraft company outside the United States in decades, a move that comes as the service seeks to expand its maritime capabilities in the Indo-Pacific theater.

The 5th Transportation Company, a composite watercraft company, was activated on Feb. 8 at Yokohama North Dock, Yokohama, Japan, according to an Army release . The development was first reported by the U.S. Naval Institute .

The unit will include 13 ships and 285 Army mariners, Gen. Charles Flynn, commander of U.S. Army Pacific Command, said during a June 2023 change-of-command ceremony.

After 20 years, Army logistics support vessels finally leave the Middle East

“the u.s. is looking to reduce its presence in the region as long term conflicts are coming to a close,” an army official said..

The unit’s equipment lineup, which was previously outlined in a 2021 Army release, features five landing craft utility vessels, four maneuver support vessels, two tugboats and a harbormaster operations detachment for maintenance.

Army Times previously reported that the Army Futures Command’s new Cross Functional Team-Contested Logistics is looking at expanding the use of autonomous watercraft to resupply soldiers in island chains across the Pacific, both during future exercises and in a potential conflict.

“Envision a swarm of these autonomous vessels going out to various island chains, not having to beach because we can have the UAVs come in, meet somewhere over the water, grab portions and take that area’s portion — ammo, food, blood, whatever it is — to the point of need,” said Rob Watts, team deputy director.

The Army announced the launch of a prototype Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) in October 2022, the first new class of Army watercraft in more than two decades. The vessel, a 100-foot-long landing craft with a 360-nautical mile range, will replace the Vietnam War-era Landing Craft Mechanized-8, according to the release.

The moves signal an about-face from developments in 2019, which indicated the Army was looking to cut its fleet of vessels despite a critical shortage of Navy transport ships for wartime scenarios, Army Times previously reported .

Then-Army Secretary Mark Esper informed Army senior leaders in January 2019 that they would take steps to “divest all watercraft systems” from the Army Reserve, where much of the force’s watercraft resides. But by August 2019, those plans had been paused, pending the results of a congressionally mandated study on the Army’s watercraft restructuring.

At an Association of the U.S. Army Sustainment forum in 2019, Maj. Gen. Steven Ainsworth, then-commander of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command in the Reserve, said 96% of the service’s watercraft companies were in the Reserve.

By 2021, the Army Reserve had divested all watercraft systems and realigned their watercraft-related personnel under the Harbormaster Operational Detachments, John Bradley deputy director of media relations for the Reserve Command’s public affairs office, told Army Times.

Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.

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Case (36 pairs): $59.40.

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Yacht & Smith Men's Army Socks, Military Grade Socks Size 10-13 Solid Army Green at low wholesale prices. yachtandsmith.com offers Mens Crew Socks at bulk discounted prices.

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