On Saturday, December 13, the exhibition entitled “Giorgio Armani Archivio CSAC” opened in Parma, at the Abbey of Valserena.
The exhibition, which will remain open until February 8, 2026, celebrates the genius and creativity of the great fashion designer. It presents a selection of sketches and other materials personally donated by the designer in the 1980s to the CSAC (Center for Studies and Communication Archives) of the University of Parma.
“Giorgio Armani CSAC” exhibition, Parma
The exhibition brings together over 100 original works selected from the more than 8,000 items that make up the Giorgio Armani Collection. The drawings, sketches, and design materials chosen belong to the vast heritage preserved in the Center’s Media-Fashion section, an exceptional collection of testimonies that allows visitors to retrace the formative years and evolution of the creative language of one of the most iconic figures in Italian fashion worldwide.
“We have kept the promise we made in September,” said Paolo Martelli, rector of the University of Parma, shortly after Armani’s passing.
“We are therefore presenting this exhibition, drawn from the rich material that the designer himself donated to the CSAC in the 1980s and which is part of our center’s heritage. An archive is not something dead but something that lives on through conservation, research, and its availability to the community,” added Martelli.
“We were very keen to pay tribute to ‘King Giorgio,’” added Sara Martin, deputy director of the CSAC. “These are works from between 1975 and 1980—five crucial years because it was the moment when Armani truly became Armani,” continued the manager.
The exhibition of original materials is complemented by a selection of press coverage dedicated to Armani’s meteoric rise on the international fashion scene and his early relationships with Hollywood.
The exhibition also features posters from two films that marked the designer’s decisive consecration in the world of cinema Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall”, in which Diane Keaton won an Oscar in 1978 wearing an Armani suit for the first time, and Paul Schrader’s “”, the film that revolutionized the image of men’s fashion in 1980 thanks to the wardrobe created by the designer for the protagonist Richard Gere.
“Giorgio Armani CSAC” exhibition, Parma
With this exhibition, CSAC continues its tribute to Giorgio Armani, who passed away on September 4, offering the public the opportunity to discover the origins of a style destined to influence generations.
The drawings on display include sketches, drafts, and preparatory studies created using mixed techniques, conveying the essence of Armani’s talent through his early works preserved in the Archive and dating from 1975 to 1980.
The representation of the female figure and the choice of materials express a new attitude, combining freedom of movement, elegance, and awareness. Soft lines and flowing fabrics alternate with more structured materials, in a balance of contrasts that characterizes the designer’s entire production.
The female figures are slender, inspired by the figurative culture of the 1930s and the graphic sensibility of illustrators such as Guido Crepax; the clothes take the form of fluid structures, where flowing fabrics interact with more substantial materials. The famous women’s suit and deconstructured jacket become symbols of Armani’s new elegance in these years.
University of Parma-Abbey of Valserena hosting “Giorgio Armani Archivio CSAC” exhibition
The exhibition also aims to reveal the transformation of men’s fashion, which the designer translates into softer lines and fabrics that are far from the classic rigidity, anticipating the almost interchangeability between men’s and women’s wardrobes, where gender codes intertwine and are redefined.
Giorgio Armani CSAC Archive
December 13, 2025 – February 8, 2026
Center for Studies and Communication Archive
University of Parma | Abbey of Valserena
Viazza di Paradigna 1
Parma
Italy
Opening hours: Friday 9AM-3PM | Saturday and Sunday 10AM-7PM
(closed for Christmas holidays from December 24, 2025, to January 6, 2026, inclusive)
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