Latest news with #Armani
Spectator
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Why I don't get the blues
The Louisiana bluesman Buddy Guy is releasing a new album this week. It is called Ain't Done With The Blues – a statement which one might argue seems redundant considering Guy, who is 89, has been releasing albums with the word 'blues' in the title since 1967's Left My Blues In San Francisco. Since then, we've had A Man And The Blues (1968), The Blues Giant (1979), DJ Play My Blues (1982), Damn Right, I've Got The Blues (1991), Rhythm & Blues (2013), The Blues Is Alive And Well (2018) and The Blues Don't Lie (2022). This is a man who isn't ever going to give David Bowie a run for his money in the shapeshifter stakes; Guy's listeners can have their music any colour they want, as long as it's blue, blue, electric blue. This is how it has to be. Blues artists are wholly invested in signalling in advance that they are indeed going to be singing the blues. Between 1957 and 1968, the great B.B. King released Singin' the Blues, The Blues, King Of The Blues, My Kind Of Blues, Blues For Me, Blues In My Heart, Easy Listening Blues, Mr. Blues, Confessin' The Blues and, in case any lingering doubts remained vis à vis his affiliations, Blues On Top Of Blues. By comparison, AC/DC's dedication to the word 'rock' is so much skittish dilettantism. The point is, you know where you are with the blues. From the bluesmen and women telling everyone that, yes, they were born with them, still have them and always will, to the satisfyingly disciplined 12-bar structure (traditionally deploying only three simple chords), to the foreshadowed lyrical tropes, memorably lampooned by Richard Stilgoe in 'Poppa's Blues' – 'Well, the first line of a blues/ Is always sung a second time' – a major part of its enduring appeal is that the direction of travel is never in doubt. I say this as someone who has always struggled somewhat to appreciate the journey. I understand that the timeless chug of the blues is in some sense the atavistic heartbeat of all modern music, and that its simple rudiments allow its greatest practitioners maximum freedom of expression. I am drawn towards the Delta blues of Son House, Charley Patton and particularly John Lee Hooker's spectral Mississippi moan, where time slips and something truly primeval seeps out. I love Jimi Hendrix's phantasmagorical 'Red House'. John Fahey. Bonnie Raitt. Even the White Stripes supercharged blues-rock felt exciting in the beginning. Yet I find that, unlike country or folk, too much of the blues leans on the clichéd, the rote. The Armani blues of Eric Clapton, once regarded as the greatest guitarist who ever lived, though you hear such hyperbole less frequently these days, leaves me entirely cold, and not just because he endorsed Enoch Powell in a horribly racist on-stage rant in 1976. Within the electrified Chicago blues of which Buddy Guy is one of the leading lights, I hear plenty to admire but little to love. That said, Ain't Done With The Blues is tough and sinewy and sporadically entertaining. It adheres to the template of the glossy multi-artist major-label releases of the 1980s and 1990s, perhaps the last time the blues felt like a mainstream concern rather than a niche interest thanks to albums such as B.B. King's Blues Summit and Riding With The King, and Guy's own Damn Right, I Got The Blues. Like those records, Ain't Done With The Blues features several guest artists – among them Peter Frampton, Joe Bonamassa and Joe Walsh – and is rarely more than a squealing solo away from a title which reassures the blues aficionado that they have come to the right place: 'Blues Chase The Blues Away', 'Blues On Top', 'How Blues Is That?' The last mimics the stuttering stop-time rhythm of Muddy Waters' 'Mannish Boy' while parlaying the kind of hardscrabble paid-my-dues lyrics for which the blues is renowned and often parodied, and which can't help but evoke Monty Python's Yorkshiremen sketch. 'I'm from the backwoods, way down south,' Guy growls. 'Grew up living hand to mouth/ One-door shack was all I had/ The heat went out and the cold got bad/ How blues is that?' To which the only reasonable response is to nod and say, 'Very blues indeed.' At least with Guy this well-worn stuff rings true. You listen and believe not only that he ain't done with the blues, but that the blues ain't done with him, either.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Apple is shutting a store in China, its first closure in the country
Apple will close a store in northeastern China in August, the first time it has shuttered one of its retail locations since it opened its first outlet in the country in 2008. The company said Monday that it would close its store in Dalian City's Parkland Mall on Aug. 9. On social media, locals have described the mall as struggling, noting that other brands like Michael Kors and Armani had closed their stores there. 'Given the departure of several retailers at the Parkland Mall, we have made the decision to close our store,' said Brian Bumbery, an Apple spokesperson. 'We love serving the Dalian community, and all of our valued team members will have the opportunity to continue their roles with Apple.' The closure is the latest sign of how China's economy continues to be challenged by tepid consumer spending. The government has poured large sums into programs designed to spur purchases of smartphones, washing machines and electric vehicles. The trade-in programs have gotten people to spend more but economists say the impact on consumption could be short-lived. The pullback also reflects Apple's ongoing business troubles in China, which is its second-largest market. Apple has reported declining sales in China for six quarters. Last year, it reported total revenue in the country of $66.95 billion, nearly 10% less than its peak of $74.2 billion in 2022. Chinese rivals like Huawei, Xiaomi and Vivo have eroded Apple's share of the world's largest smartphone market. Last year, Apple's share of sales of smartphones in China fell to 15.5% from 17.9% a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Research, a tech research firm. Apple will continue to operate its other store in Dalian at another shopping mall, Olympia 66. The iPhone maker plans to open a new store in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen this month. With that opening, the company expects to finish 2025 with the same number of stores, 58, as it had at the beginning of the year, even after the Parkland Mall closure.
Observer
2 days ago
- Business
- Observer
Apple is shutting a store in China, its first closure in the country
Apple will close a store in northeastern China in August, the first time it has shuttered one of its retail locations since it opened its first outlet in the country in 2008. The company said Monday that it would close its store in Dalian City's Parkland Mall on Aug. 9. On social media, locals have described the mall as struggling, noting that other brands like Michael Kors and Armani had closed their stores there. 'Given the departure of several retailers at the Parkland Mall, we have decided to close our store,' said Brian Bumbery, an Apple spokesperson. 'We love serving the Dalian community, and all of our valued team members will have the opportunity to continue their roles with Apple.' The closure is the latest sign of how China's economy continues to be challenged by tepid consumer spending. The government has poured large sums into programs designed to spur purchases of smartphones, washing machines, and electric vehicles. The trade-in programs have gotten people to spend more, but economists say the impact on consumption could be short-lived. The pullback also reflects Apple's ongoing business troubles in China, which is its second-largest market. Apple has reported declining sales in China for six quarters. Last year, it reported total revenue in the country of $66.95 billion, nearly 10% less than its peak of $74.2 billion in 2022. Chinese rivals like Huawei, Xiaomi, and Vivo have eroded Apple's share of the world's largest smartphone market. Last year, Apple's share of sales of smartphones in China fell to 15.5% from 17.9% a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Research, a tech research firm. Apple will continue to operate its other store in Dalian at another shopping mall, Olympia 66. The iPhone maker plans to open a new store in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen this month. With that opening, the company expects to finish 2025 with the same number of stores, 58, as it had at the beginning of the year, even after the Parkland Mall closure. This article originally appeared in
New York Times
3 days ago
- New York Times
How Can I Be Sure My Clothes Aren't Made in a Sweatshop?
Ever since the 2013 disaster at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, the deadliest accident in the history of the garment industry, it has been impossible for anyone to deny knowing that there is a labor crisis in the modern fashion world. It is one that prioritizes the constant production of more and cheaper stuff over the safety and livelihoods of many of the people employed to make that stuff. Since then, a variety of laws and private agreements have been put in place to supposedly change this reality, but in fact every year seems to bring new revelations about fashion brands being caught for working with manufacturers that enforce sweatshop conditions. Once upon a time these revelations centered primarily on fast-fashion or mass-fashion brands working with factories far overseas, but lately, as you point out, they have also come from luxury houses that are working with factories in Italy. Brands like Dior, Armani, Valentino, Montblanc and Loro Piana have all gotten in trouble because of factories in Italy said to be operating with abusive conditions. Often the factories that have been subcontracted by factories the luxury brands officially employ, though similar stories have been made public since the release of the 2007 documentary 'Luxury Slaves.' This is particularly jarring, because for years luxury brands justified their high price tags by pointing to the quality of both the materials and the labor as well as the know-how involved in creating their products. The implication was that part of what you were paying for was the security that what you were buying was made in a responsible way, by people who were fairly paid for their expertise. This is why 'Made in Italy' and 'Made in France' became synonyms for 'made well.' Not anymore. These days, policing supply chains can feel like playing Whac-a-Mole. As soon as one bad actor is exposed, another one pops up. If you want to know how bad it is, check out the investigations of an NGO called Transparentem that is focused on stopping modern slavery. It has looked into the supply chains of more than 100 apparel companies. So what's a consumer to do? It's not enough to check to see if a brand claims to demand a code of conduct by their suppliers. The only way a brand can ensure that a factory abides by the rules is to fully own it. And while brands like Louis Vuitton and Hermès do, many companies also contract out to factories that sometimes then subcontract. A lot of them, it turns out, don't have complete pictures of where their products are made. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Why Giorgio Armani is still the king of understated luxury, 50 years after selling his car to fund his label
Happy 50th anniversary, Mr Armani. Your decision to sell your VW Beetle to buy cloth to found your fashion label on 24 July 1975 changed the way I, and millions of people across the world, dress for the better. When I was growing up, men wore stiff, heavy suits from Savile Row if you had the money, or from the high street – Marks & Spencer and Topman – if you were on a budget. It was a similar story in most countries. But then your first UK Emporio Armani store opened on Brompton Road in London 's Knightsbridge and everything changed. Your suit jackets were lightweight, unstructured and had a rolled, soft shoulder. Some were more like cardigans than jackets. The trousers came either flat-fronted or with pleats, so you could choose the silhouette you liked. You were, as you put it, 'an innovator, rebelling against the formality of tailoring and replacing it with something more modern'. Your soft silhouette proved wildly popular among both men and women. I felt I could breathe – and move – for the first time in the first suit I bought: a lightweight navy two button. It worked for the office and for nights out, including first dates. It was the beginning of a – very expensive – love affair. I moved on to Collezioni on New Bond Street and later your Giorgio Armani boutique on Sloane Street. I bought your slim-fit shirts, ties, a dinner suit, shoes, bags. The caramel leather jacket was a pricey mistake. I thought I looked like a Serie A Milanese footballer but the truth was I could pass for an unlicensed minicab driver in Wolverhampton. I stayed in your albergo above your store in Milan's Via Manzoni and at your hotel in Dubai. I ate in your Nobu-branded restaurant and your caffè in New York – your favourite tortelli di ricotta e spinaci, if I recall. There were sunglasses, pens, watches and fragrances, too. You and I first met on a freezing January day in 2004. You were in your office in Milan, twisting your wire-frame glasses like worry beads. You explained your design philosophy: 'Smart but not too formal, fashionable but not too trendy.' It's one that has never stopped working, whether you are David Beckham or Cate Blanchett. Or me. Or YOU readers. Who hasn't bought, been given or desired something with an Armani label in their lifetime? We met dozens more times in the two decades between then and now as I covered your business for many different newspapers and magazines. You even invited me back to yours – a converted 17th-century 3,000sq ft palazzo on Via Borgonuovo in central Milan – where you introduced me to your two most important companions over the years: your cats Charlie and Angel. (Sorry, again, for pressing the eject button on your stereo, which revealed that rather than the fashionable music you told me you liked, you prefer the Spice Girls.) That was a rare occasion when you did not speak your mind with your characteristic brutal honesty, no matter the consequences. In an industry where most designers are so scared of causing offence and sparking a consumer backlash that they only utter bland platitudes, you were and are a much-needed breath of fresh air. When I interviewed you for The Sunday Times you condemned Prada's 'conceptual fashion' – collections that start with an idea or a theme rather than simply a desire to show off chic clothes that suit the weather – as 'very niche, very elite, snob fashion'. You revealed that Gianni Versace once told you: 'I dress sluts. You dress church ladies.' You lampooned anyone who had cosmetic surgery for vanity reasons, especially LA ladies with comedy boob jobs. 'A small breast does not have to become big,' you said. 'I prefer to look at a natural woman. A woman should be courageous to become older, not be desperate to look younger than her age. With time, a woman's body is better. As a woman goes to work, has babies, she is strong. She has character.' You caused a stir when you exhorted gay men to stop going to the gym so much – 'I don't like muscle boy' – and to stop dressing gay. 'A homosexual man is a man 100 per cent. He does not need to dress homosexual. When homosexuality is exhibited to the extreme – to say, 'Ah, you know I'm homosexual' – that has nothing to do with me.' Ask anyone today to name a fashion designer and I'd bet good money they will reply 'Giorgio Armani'. That's because, in many ways, you are not a fashion designer. You consistently create the understated style we crave, and you do not veer wildly to extremes, staging splashy catwalk shows simply to garner social media posts. 'I design for the public, not the fashion industry,' you explained over an espresso in your hotel in Dubai. 'I use my creativity to help people to live my style – a simple, elegant style. Fashion's purpose is to make it easier and more elegant to live. Otherwise what is it about? It's just a game. Worth nothing.' You were true to your values and never gave up, not even when the critics said that 'Signor Beige' created clothes so dull they were 'Gap for grown-ups'. You never succumbed to French bearing gifts. While Italian family firms around you – Gucci, Fendi, Loro Piana, Bulgari, Brioni, Bottega Veneta – sold up to the Paris-based luxury conglomerates LVMH and Kering, you remained proudly independent. You enjoy a joke, too – and when not everybody is in on it, it amuses you even more. When you entertain at your Armani Nobu restaurant in Milan you get the chef to make pasta that looks like sushi because you prefer Italian cuisine to Japanese. You even poke fun at yourself. When I asked you who the love of your life is, you laughed and replied, 'Tantissimi – so many!' You old dog! Mr Armani, you did it your way and introduced me and millions more to la dolce vita. My highlight of your one-man brand? The very late night the two of us spent together at the Vanity Fair Oscars party in Los Angeles in 2007, when you introduced me to all the stars wearing 'you' – from Beyoncé to Samuel L Jackson. Grazie mille. Here's to many more years.
