GIORGIO ARMANI: GENIUS ON DISPLAY IN PARMA
Over 100 original works at the Abbey of Valserena from materials donated by the designer to CSAC in the 1980s
An initiative by the University of Parma and CSAC
Opening Saturday, 13 December, at 5:00 pm
Parma, 4 September 2025 – The genius and creativity of Giorgio Armani take center stage in Parma, at the Abbey of Valserena, from 13 December 2025 to 8 February 2026. A comprehensive tribute promoted by the University of Parma and CSAC – the University’s Center for Studies and Archive of Communication.
The exhibition, titled Giorgio Armani CSAC Archive, presents over one hundred original works selected from more than 8,000 items that make up the Giorgio Armani Collection, personally donated by the designer to CSAC in the 1980s. Drawings, sketches, and design materials from the extensive holdings of the Center’s Media–Fashion section form an exceptional body of evidence that traces the formative years and the evolution of the creative language of one of the most iconic figures in Italian fashion worldwide.
The opening is scheduled for Saturday, 13 December, at 5:00 pm.
Alongside the display of original materials, the exhibition includes a curated press review documenting Armani’s rapid rise on the international fashion scene and his early relationships with Hollywood. Also on view are posters for the two films that played a decisive role in establishing the designer’s reputation in cinema: Annie Hall by Woody Allen—through which Diane Keaton won the Academy Award in 1978, wearing an Armani suit for the first time—and American Gigoloby Paul Schrader, the 1980 film that revolutionized the imagery of men’s fashion thanks to the wardrobe created by Armani 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 drawings on display—fashion figures, sketches, and preparatory studies executed using mixed media—convey the essence of Armani’s talent through his earliest works preserved in the Archive, dating from 1975 to 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 fluid fabrics alternate with more structured materials, achieving a balance of contrasts that would characterize the designer’s entire body of work. Armani’s graphic mark gives rise to slender female figures inspired by the figurative culture of the 1930s and by the graphic sensibility of illustrators such as Guido Crepax; garments conceived as fluid structures, where flowing textiles interact with more substantial materials; the emergence of the iconic women’s suit and the deconstructed jacket, destined to become symbols of the new Armani elegance.
The exhibition path also reveals the transformation of menswear: softer lines and fabrics far removed from classical rigidity articulate an innovative vision that anticipates the near interchangeability of men’s and women’s wardrobes, in which gender codes intersect and are redefined.
On Saturday, 13 December, immediately following the opening, at 6:00 pm, in the Church of Valserena, the third and final event of Respice Stellam will take place—a concert tour by the University of Parma Choir “Ildebrando Pizzetti” through Cistercian abbeys in Northern Italy, organized in collaboration with the Italian Association of Cistercian Sites and Abbeys (AISAC). The concert will conclude the opening day, offering a moment of musical meditation in dialogue with the abbey’s spaces.
Giorgio Armani CSAC Archive
13 December 2025 – 8 February 2026
Exhibition extended until 15 February 2026
Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione
University of Parma | Abbey of Valserena
Viazza di Paradigna 1, Parma
Opening hours: Friday 9 am–3 pm | Saturday and Sunday 10 am–7 pm
Contact: servizimuseali@csacparma.it