Armani/Casa

The House of Dreams by Giorgio Armani

Armani/Casa was launched in 2000 and has rapidly become an integral component within the rich and varied Giorgio Armani Group. The appearance of Armani/Casa has helped cement the reputation of Armani as a brand which is not only a world leader in the fashion sector, but also synonymous with a wider vision of an all-inclusive lifestyle that embraces a number of different product areas. At Armani/Casa, Giorgio Armani communicates what is essentially his own ideal of a home – his dream of a living space. This is an intimate and special place, where one can gather one’s thoughts and entertain others surrounded by beauty. But beauty here is not necessarily luxurious or ostentatious, but instead, Giorgio Armani views it as a property that evokes a response that is both sensory and emotional. This philosophy is expressed through the consideration and care with which every single article is introduced into the collection, and through the choice of details, materials and finishes. All aspects of the design contribute to creating a rich collection of furniture and furnishings that is intended to give pleasure.
 
The Armani/Casa collection ranges from furniture to accessories – there are fabrics and objets d’art, and lighting options designed for every area of the home. Armani/Casa has now built up an abundant permanent collection, which is expanded on a seasonal basis with more temporary lines of accessories and fabrics. This approach allows clients of Armani/Casa to enrich their homes in two different ways – they can invest in the ongoing collection of classic and iconic products that epitomize the brand, but also enjoy the flow of fresh ideas and suggestions that succeed one another season by season.
     
Every item within Armani/Casa is made with fine craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail, while the materials, textiles and natural elements selected are consistently of the highest quality. The result is a catalogue of the exceptional and the unique, in which every item possesses an intrinsic and charismatic essence that will give pleasure day after day

Themes and zones within the collection

The Armani/Casa collection can be explored through a series of themed zones in which furniture and accessories are co-ordinated to achieve a harmony absolutely appropriate to the purpose of the area and the rhythms of daily life. The specific zones are:

Living
Sofas, armchairs and poufs, occasional tables as well as console units, small book cases and benches, these are the backbone of the living zone, combined with suitably chosen accessories to achieve a hospitable and stress-free atmosphere, conducive to a mood of total relaxation and the art of conversation. Armani/Casa attaches particular importance to the way in which the shapes and materials of items of furniture are harmoniously juxtaposed, and to the chromatic and stylistic interplay of colours, fabrics and cushions. Every accessory is selected for inclusion with a discriminating eye. This clarity of vision results in an ambience distinguished by its sense of restraint and sophisticated elegance.

Dining
Tables and seating, storage and sideboards, backed up by a plethora of accessories that all contribute to the completeness of the Armani/Casa dining zone. This is a place dedicated to the pleasures of the table, adding to the enjoyment of good food by introducing a wealth of tactile and visual stimuli to enhance the emotions and feelings of the occasion. The furniture is ideally matched with china, accessories and decorative adornments from the collection. Tone on tone effects and gentle contrasts of colours and materials bring a nicely judged sense of coherence to the different themes and variations of the ritual of the table: formal, classical, oriental, simple or grand occasions.

Bedroom
Beds and bedside tables, cupboards and chests of drawers, as well as hanging units, occasional tables, small armchairs and sofas are the core of the Armani/Casa night zone.
Subtle lighting and tranquil colours define the mood, as do the warm surfaces of the wooden furniture, the elegant upholstery and soft, sophisticated fabrics. The combination delivers an irresistible invitation to rest and relax, and makes the daily routine of selecting and putting away one’s clothes and household linen a pleasurable one.
The furniture designed for the night zone demonstrates a considered balance of shape and material, and there is an uncompromising selection of the finest bedding fabrics, displaying a perfect harmony of colour and cloth.

Studio / relaxation
The wide choice of desks and seating, book cases and storage units, to be teamed with sofas, armchairs, chaises longues and occasional tables, is the key to the creation of specific zones devoted to study, work, reading and relaxation. All items for this area of the home share the same mood of sophisticated comfort. Because of its multi purpose function, the study/relaxation zone is viewed by Armani/Casa as both an autonomous area, and as an adjunct to the living zone, dining area or bedroom. According to its positioning relative to one or other of these other areas, the study/relaxation zone will be configured with different nuances, but always with an overall harmony of shape, colour and material to match the adjacent zone.

Small sets
Small sets of furniture, lamps and accessories to be arranged at focal points within the home. Objets d’art, bibelots, candles and other small items that all play a part in enriching the home and endowing it with a personality which is at one and the same time elegant, sophisticated and charismatic.

New systems for the Bathroom and Kitchen, Guapo and Bridge
During recent years Armani/Casa has also turned its attention towards those areas of the home where technological considerations play a greater role: the bathroom and the kitchen.
In 2005 Guapo was launched – the first modular system for the bathroom, originally presented in an elegant brown oak finish, but now also available in a sophisticated shade of grey.
2006 saw the kitchen come to the fore with a range shaped like a bridge, and named accordingly.  This collection has quickly become established as an iconic element within the Armani/Casa collection. Its name is not just a nod to a visual reference – it is also called Bridge on account of the potential interaction between the kitchen’s cooking and eating zones; Bridge governs this interaction by means of an electrically controlled panel. The hi-tech aspect of Bridge is concealed behind precious materials such as plaited bronze laminate, chosen for the doors of storage units, hot and cold zones, and in-built larder, while the drawers are completely clad in washable metallic fabric.
Bridge is a new development of critical importance that drives forward the abundant Armani/Casa collection.
Armani/Casa

Research and development in the field of materials

Linear design, functional know how, supreme elegance: Giorgio Armani’s personal vision of furnishing the home is more and more identified by its strong and coherent approach, one that reflects the personality of the designer himself and his preference for pure minimalism, with considered cultural cross references, whether they be the Art Deco style of the Thirties or Orientalism.
At the same time, to highlight the excellence of the design, for Armani/Casa Giorgio Armani has developed an unprecedented research programme into materials in order to confer an extraordinary sense of richness and luxury to the most simple and linear shapes. Some of these are unusual materials recovered from age-old traditions such as parchment, which was originally widely used as a writing surface and revived in the Thirties for interior design. Another material used in Armani/Casa is shagreen, which is derived from the skin of the pastinaca ray, a fish that in sixteenth century Japan was used to decorate the shield, hilt and scabbard of a Samurai warrior’s sword; it was revived in the Twenties by designers and architects linked to the Art Deco movement, and was also widely used by the Modernist movement, who decorated it and fixed it to small pieces of furniture with bronze and copper inserts.
For the Armani/Casa collection of objets d’art, other exceptional leathers have also been used, particularly diamond python, one of the most highly sought after skins only sold under strict regulation by the exporting countries – Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia – who are responsible for protecting their environments and restricting the number of skins exported year by year. From South America, the iguana skin is hand crafted with techniques that maximise its grain and consistency. In the Armani/Casa collection, glass is also a precious item, sanded and milled by master craftsmen in Murano and sometimes enriched with pure gold leaf. Also featured in the collection are classic materials such as bronze, one of the first metals known to man, and onyx, the only stone that when expertly treated becomes extremely durable in spite of its fragile appearance. Found in the mines of the Alpine foothills of the Veneto, this honey-coloured stone is cut into slabs that are naturally marked here and there by imperceptible veining, a sign of authenticity. A vitreous resin mix spread on the inner surface guarantees its durability and provides a uniform and glossy patina.
Wood is chosen for its rare beauty and compact structure: from teak, treated with a matt black wax that makes it very shiny and smooth to touch, without obscuring the beautiful grain, to solid wood worked completely by hand using traditional techniques.
Exceptionally pure silk and cashmere is selected by Armani/Casa for maximum lightness, comfort and a touch of delicate softness.
Other rare and precious materials include horn and mother of pearl, which are combined with silver for a contemporary appeal; the raku ceramics, the result of a Japanese process only brought to the west during the past fifty years; and 925 silver, made more homogenous and glossy on the surface from immersion in a dip of pure silver (classified 1000).
The beeswax used for the candles is totally pure. These are produced by hand in the Far East and when lit, give off a lightly honey-scented fragrance. According to the Chinese code of Feng Shui, candles bring the energy of fire to a room, stimulating passion and the ability to express oneself. Never was a material more paradoxical than beeswax: humble and simple, it was nevertheless considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians, as were the bees – the daughters of Ra – who produced it.
The gold or silver leaf finish that embellishes certain items in the collection is obtained by applying gossamer thin layers over a wooden surface. This is an extremely delicate traditional process that can only be effected by expert craftsmen to avoid overlaps or inharmonious and unattractive flaws. The technique for applying the leaf makes the finish even more desirable, since far from being random, it follows a regular geometric pattern that can be read by holding the surface up against the light. Each piece in gold or silver leaf is therefore unique and unrepeatable, the result of exclusive craftsmanship.
Briarwood or Root wood, a material particularly prized in the Twenties by artists of the Art Deco movement, adorns a range of Armani/Casa side tables and consoles and highlights their elegance. This exclusive material derives its beauty from its special grain – the section of the trunk used is that closest to the root (hence its name). Its unique quality lies in the harmonious and dynamic veining of the wood, more visible and more fluid than in higher sections of the trunk. Armani/Casa uses the root of a very precious wood, European walnut, and processes it with a specialised technique to obtain a natural but at the same time sophisticated effect.