Giorgio Armani on Dressing Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman – WWD

MILAN ⁠— With the return of red carpet events and the IRL awards season, celebrities had the opportunity to shine once again in their finest gowns. This season, while there were some groundbreaking looks ⁠— such as Kristen Stewart’s Chanel shorts or Ariana DeBose in Valentino pants ⁠— there was a distinct return to traditional show-stopping, sophisticated floor-length gowns, waving goodbye to the naked dress and elevating the glamorama level on the red carpet.

Embodying this trend, Nicole Kidman at the Oscars and Lady Gaga at the Grammys, both in custom Giorgio Armani Privé, spoke volumes about the designer’s reach, catering to two such different fashion connoisseurs.

Lady Gaga, who took home the Grammy Award for best traditional pop vocal album for “Love For Sale” with Tony Bennett, wore a black silk one-shoulder gown with a sweeping white train wrapped around the column skirt.

Kidman, who this year was nominated for best actress in a leading role for her performance as Lucille Ball in “Being the Ricardos,” wore a pastel, light blue silk faille strapless bustier gown – a color that accented her complexion. The column silhouette was accented by a peplum skirt that tied with an exaggerated bow and extended into a train embellished with gold crystals.

Here, Giorgio Armani discusses exclusively with WWD red carpet trends, designing for strong and influential women, and how he is still surprised when his designs come alive.

WWD: Do you believe there is a return to classic looks on the red carpet? A return to what we could call Hollywood style, or is it a simplistic definition?

Giorgio Armani: Yes, I believe there is a return to a theatrical and glittering glamour, similar to that of the golden age of Hollywood, which is the exact opposite of what I did on the red carpets at the beginning of my career. But the nature of fashion is cyclic, we cannot deny it. Today the desire to dream is big and in a moment when everyone is a star on their social channels, the true stars raise the bar. To follow them, for me, is an exciting style exercise.

WWD: Nicole Kidman and Lady Gaga are two women with clearly different personalities, but they chose and wore your gowns at the Oscars and at the Grammys, respectively, both looking fabulous. What do you think is the fashion message they share?

G.A.: Nicole and Lady Gaga are certainly different women, but they are both Armani women in the way they approach their relationship with fashion, which is always personal and active, never passive. They wear the dress, not the other way around, and with every look, even the most extravagant, what emerges is their way of being, which is for the only thing that counts.

WWD: What were your thoughts when you were designing the two looks? Did they ask for something in particular?

G.A.: Each dress is always born from a conversation, during which I listen, propose and adjust. They are both artists in an important moment of their career: I imagined dresses that would celebrate their beauty and status, and also the femininity, so fascinating and graceful in the case of Kidman, voluptuous in the case of Gaga. The first proposal was liked by both, also for the colors: pictorial for Nicole, graphic and net for Stefani [Germanotta, Lady Gaga].

WWD: From your sketch to the red carpet, what do you think when you actually see the person wearing your design on the red carpet? When you sketch, do you think of what she will be able to add to the dress once worn, since each has her own posture and precise, well-defined personality?

G.A.: A dress, on its own, is an idea, an inanimate object: It comes to life only on a body, through the unique personality of each woman. When I design a collection I can’t imagine the women that I will dress, but in the case of the red carpet I know who they are and so I imagine a certain attitude and posture already in the sketching phase. Each time, though, to see my dress animated by the person wearing it is a splendid emotion that never ceases to surprise me.

WWD: How has your style evolved on the red carpet? Is there something you like to see in particular? What do you absolutely dislike?

G.A.: My style has evolved in accordance with the times, and it could not be any other way. Over the years, I have surely welcomed styles that were closer to a traditional idea of glamour, while seeing them through the filter of my pure and essential aesthetic. I always love elegance in subtraction. I absolutely do not like any excess. But there is also a measured way also to be excessive, if you allow this oxymoron, and this fascinates me.

WWD: Were you ever surprised after you sent a dress to a particular actress? Did you see a detail that was totally unexpected?

G.A.: There’s always an unexpected detail — in a walk or even how she looks. The element of surprise is never missing, and it’s one of the most beautiful parts of this job.

WWD: Do you believe that the red carpet remains an important vehicle in terms of visibility and desire?

G.A.: It certainly is, but perhaps in a different way compared to the past, since the public is continuously pounded from every side by images and stories. In this sense the red carpets can’t increase the desire, but they are still an unbeatable ally in the construction of the aura, of the desirability, of the fascination of a brand, without forgetting the always huge amount of discussions and articles they stimulate and that always contribute to making fashion an important, I would say central, part of popular culture.