Armani to students, real work takes you far - Lifestyle

He has been giving style lessons for almost 50 years, but this time it was not his clothes that left the public speechless, but his words: in his Piacenza, for the conferral of the honorary degree in global business management given to him by the Catholic University, Giorgio Armani gave a special speech, addressing in particular the students. "I talked about myself, thinking above all of you students, I would like my story - said the designer, in his fourth honorary degree - to be a stimulus and example to remind you that real work leads far". Not a motivational speech, no slogan like 'stay hungry, stay foolish', but the story of a life, which began 89 years ago in Piacenza, and of a career, which began in 1975, which led Armani to be at the head of a proudly independent group, symbol of Made in Italy. "This degree - he said from the stage of the municipal theater, after the intervention of the rector Franco Anelli - has a special value because it rewards my role as an entrepreneur and the passion that have allowed me to transform a dream into a solid group, a symbol of Made in Italy, special because it is conferred on me in my hometown, a magical place full of memories, from Piacenza I left to look for my way that I found in Milan, but my roots have always remained here". In his speech, Giorgio Armani also recalled one of the hardest moments of his life, the death of his partner and companion Sergio Galeotti, who died in 1985, ten years after founding Giorgio Armani with him. "I founded Giorgio Armani together with Sergio Galeotti, the first to really believe in my talent, he - said Armani - took care of the business and I took care of creativity, but fate put me to the test and, following the death of my partner, to ensure that Giorgio Armani survived, I had to take care of the company in person. Many thought that I would not make it, but thanks to my stubbornness and the support of the people close to me, I managed to move forward: it was a long and sometimes complex path, I overcame the difficult moments with commitment and dedication and rigor, the values that I assimilated in the family and that I always recommend to follow to give shape to what you believe in, Even more so today that ephemeral successes are multiplying because what requires commitment - he underlined - lasts". And here is the cheapest lesson: "With courage and confidence, I have always proudly cultivated, defending it, my independence. I listen to the opinion of others, but I am the one who makes the decisions, always weighing risks and benefits, with a great sense of responsibility". But Armani's real secret is another, and today he revealed it to the students of the Cattolica: "I am a rational creative, but the drive - his words - always comes from passion, from an intuition and from the burning desire to realize it. Every idea, after all, is the result of falling in love and this work, which for me is life, is a continuous act of love. I also recommend to you - he told the young people - to cultivate love for what you do with respect for those close to you". Any advice to young people who want to follow his example? "Studying with commitment, observing reality and working with passion and consistency - Armani underlined to ANSA - without letting oneself be discouraged or enchanted by easy successes, because it is the substance that counts". Its substance has now been recognized asON the fourth honorary degree, "for the international dimension of the brand, for the holistic approach - reads the motivations - to sustainability, for the inexhaustible search for improvement and for the awareness of the centrality of the company in the creation of shared value". The degree is one of the many awards that have been attributed to him, but in his Piacenza - where he was born in 1934 - today he has had a special flavor: "It forced me - Armani's confidence after the ceremony - to remember a path I did, very demanding, forgetting myself and it is serious, I do not recommend it, work but do not forget, When you come home, whether you have a dog, a cat, a child or a lover because going forward you need people by your side." Today there were many to applaud him, from his grandchildren Roberta, Silvana and Andrea to his right arm Leo Dell'Orco, all at his side in life and work.