Giorgio Armani has opened up about his sexual experiences with male lovers, for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.
The 90-year-old fashion designer, said to be worth more $13 billion (close to £10 billion), rarely speaks about his private life, and hasn’t commented on his sexuality publicly since an interview with Vanity Fair in 2000. “I have had women in my life, and sometimes men,” he said back then.
But now, in a new interview with Corriere della Sera, he has spoken more about those men, detailing coming to terms with his sexuality.
Although Armani revealed that he lost his virginity to a girl at school, he went on to say he had a crush on a man he met at summer camp.
“I’ve never talked about this,” the one-time aspiring doctor said. “It happened under a shed on the beach at Misano, at five in the afternoon, when all the boys from the summer camp were supposed to have a bit of a quiet time.”
What exactly happened is unclear, but Armani, who launched his own label in 1975, went on to say: “I was in a group of boys, and there was a supervisor, a young man, who I felt immediately attracted to. I didn’t fully understand it at the time, and I didn’t pursue it. But from that moment on, my life took a different turn.
“I didn’t distinguish between men and women at the time. It was just an attraction I felt, something beautiful: I couldn’t wait to be near him, to be touched… I felt a huge connection. It’s still a very emotional memory for me.”
Armani later entered into a relationship with business partner Sergio Galeotti, who died of an Aids-related illness in 1985.
“We met near the Capannina nightclub, in Versilia, where I was on holiday for a couple of days. I saw Sergio in his car and I immediately fell for his Tuscan smile. When Sergio died, a part of me died with him. I’m still amazed that I found within myself the resilience to withstand such an immense pain,” Armani said.
“I had to tap into my willpower to deal with all the pain and anguish. A whole year spent next to Sergio in his hospital bed. And it all happened as our career was taking off, when we were becoming known, setting up our company, reaching worldwide fame. It was the moment I was gaining confidence in myself, then this blow hit me.”
Armani is currently in a relationship with Leo Dell’Orco, the head of the men’s style office at the fashion house.
Although Armani wears a “wonderful ring with a diamond”, the pair are not married and he’s “indifferent” about labelling just what it is that the two men share.
“I think it over and realise there’s no point in being in love and giving it so little space, because I just don’t have that much space,” he said. “But I have deep affection for Leo, who has lived with me for years and is the person closest to me.”
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