He
may be approaching his 80th birthday this July, but Italian fashion designer
Giorgio Armani has confirmed that he has not made any plans to retire as of
yet. The fashion house will also soon be celebrating its 40th anniversary, and
Armani says that the big milestones give him a chance to celebrate all he has
achieved so far. The designer comments that he plans to continue working just
as hard on his collections and he is still very much focused on his upcoming
projects. He believes he has more to give to the fashion world: ''I'm
about to celebrate my 80th birthday and the 40th anniversary of my brand. The
double landmark is an important event that unifies my personal and professional
life. I've still got a lot of energy and my projects for the future are focused
on the creativity of the collections and the group's global strategy. For
those who are wondering, I can confirm I have no intention of giving up. But
I'm continuing to cultivate my team to make sure my business can continue in
future.''
Even
though he doesn't plan to retire, Giorgio reassures that he has still thought
about who will succeed him when he does decide to call it quits and he has been
working to make sure that the person who takes over will have a smooth
transition to become head designer when the time is right: ''I would
like to reassure everyone that everything is under control. It's been years
that I've been planning for my succession and I've got a loyal workforce who
will take care of everything.''
