The empire of Armani -- a name behind fashion to suit high rollers and everyday fashionistas.
But it's much more than just clothes. It's hotels, restaurants, watches and fragrances.
Behind it, Giorgio Armani, a master of design and branding.
Born out of his vision of style more than three decades ago, the company has become synonymous with clean lines and tailored suits.
At 77, Giorgio Armani and his design house are still standing strong. The business valued by Forbes at $7.2 billion this year.
And as other major fashion houses buckle under the pressure to go public, Armani remains one of the few luxury labels to stay privately owned.
This week, Talk Asia's Stan Grant meets the style icon in China, home to almost 300 of the brand's outlets.
He gives us a rare insight into the making of an Armani catwalk show and sheds some light onto the sensitive subject of succession.
Mr. Armani, welcome to Talk Asia. Thank you very much for giving us your time.
The luxury market brand in Asia, in general, as people become more sophisticated, they've become more wealthy, how much potential is there?
China approaches fashion with strong enthusiasm. And I believe that this enthusiasm can be translated into something interesting, economically speaking.
I'm sure it will take time before even the Chinese public, who are willing to buy luxury goods, will be able to approach our products,
because it's clear many don't yet understand Western luxury, style, or fashion.
It will take us a few years before we will be able to see a wider public totally understanding my product.
If I think of Armani, I don't think of fashion. I think of style. This is a victory of style over fashion.
Is that what you're about? Are you about creating something classic, something that is lasting, and not something that may just be this year's look?
It is a kind of elegance that belongs to me and, probably, sometimes it doesn't have anything to do with the trends.
And so, in my opinion, it has been very appropriate to be faithful to my principals, to my personal history.
Although, sometimes, the way I am, it might not belong to the present world of fashion.
I want to ask you now about your early life, growing up. How did fashion enter your life?
Well, yes, I wasn't born with an extreme passion for fashion.
Even when I was a kid, I never had such an inspiration [to become] a fashion designer.
It was almost by coincidence that I joined a big department store, La Rinascente, through an acquaintance.
And from that moment, I started to direct a boutique and to experience products, especially for men.
But you never trained as such. So, where did that ability come from?
Was it an eye for fashion? Was it something inside you that you were able to create such an empire?
Through a lot of effort, because I didn't even know how to draw.
I learned little by little. I learned how to draw. I learned how to tell the difference in the quality of fabrics, the subtle differences.
I started with collections for men. So my first collection for women was deeply inspired by male roles -- businesswomen, women in meetings --
and it was much easier for me to steal those items from the wardrobe of a man that could easily adapt to a woman.
Then, later on, it became my real work that involved me also in the evolution and in the change,
in adapting my style towards a more feminine style and less rigid and masculine.
I see the importance to carry on this way.
Armani, of course, is Armani -- it's who you are, it's your name --
you are so central to the company. What about succession?
That is a difficult question, I dare say. It's always very hard to give a proper answer to such a question.
Being here in China, handling this important event and having seen my collections displayed in fashion shows in Paris, in Milan a few months ago, the enthusiasm of all my colleagues...
all of this makes me believe that it's very difficult to even fathom giving this up.
Only a catastrophe would make me give it up. But, God willing, I have fully recovered.
So, as far as I'm concerned, I'll keep working in my field.
And then, after Armani, there will be many Armanis from my company --
people who have, maybe, absorbed my history, my thinking, and have been updating it over the years.