The future of A|X Armani Exchange is written in Milan

Few designers have managed to enter the collective consciousness of a country as Giorgio Armani did with Italy and especially with Milan – a not easy task, carried out with years of work but also thanks to a vision that always holds firm the cultural pulse of the country. Thanks to this vision, just over thirty years ago, in 1991, A|X Armani Exchange was born, the most dynamic of the brands in the Armani galaxy. The brand, born as «an "easy" clothing line, with affordable prices, for the new generations» it was conceived and inspired by the young people that Armani himself saw on the streets of his Milan and during his travels and was perhaps the first to make the world of Italian fashion, until then very institutional and serious, dialogue with those youthful garments that, years later, took the name of streetwear.

The brand's first boutique, opened in New York, the capital of that streetwear that Armani had wanted to interpret through its aesthetic lens, was a simple space with an industrial aesthetic that well expressed the freshness and spontaneity of the new line – whose success has perhaps no better witnesses of its own enormous diffusion all over the world,  especially in Italy, where A| X Armani Exchange became, for Millennials as well as for Gen Z, the first and memorable encounter with the Made in Italy myth of Giorgio Armani.

Just like the New York boutique, the new store in Milan, which will be located in Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, continues on the tracks of minimalism and functionality – but greatly expanding its spaces becoming the largest space of the brand in Europe. The store extends on two levels covering about 480 square meters. Inspired by Armani's essential, elegant and always classically Italian aesthetics, the space is covered with oak walls that contrast both with the stone floor and with the industrial-looking ceiling, with exposed systems, while the two floors are connected by an elevator and a staircase made of glass and a black LED screen along the perimeter of the ceiling graphic information and logos. The store will also be equipped with cutting-edge technologies such as video walls, smart check outs and POS in mobility that will make the customer experience more dynamic as well as an area dedicated to the brand's special projects. As a symbol of dynamism and Milanese life over the decades, but also as a place frequented by people from all over the world and of all ages, and therefore representative of both the diversity and internationality of the city, the new store "has a special meaning", explained Giorgio Armani. The entire project has also been designed with a focus on sustainability minimizing its environmental impact: from the choice of easily dismantled and recyclable materials and finishes such as wood from FSC certified forests and ceramics containing recycled materials between 20% and 40% to lighting and electrical systems designed to minimize waste and pollution. 

The store will also be the most representative landing point of the brand's SS22 collection, a new range of timeless garments that reinterpret A|X Armani Exchange's heritage for the era of Gen Z - an aesthetic told in the latest editorial of nss magazine shot by Alessio Spanu on the streets of Milan that combines the industrial style of the city with the self-expression of the new generations. Music is another symbol of this self-expression, represented in the video of the official campaign by the soundtrack signed by Nina Kraviz, which expresses that eternal link between musical art and youth culture.

Photographer Alessio Spanu 

Stylist Coordinator Gianluca Gagliardi

MUA Federica pisu

Producer Nicole Sancassani

Models Zeta and Rocqui

Editorial Coordinator Edoardo Lasala

Photographer Assistant Filippo Ragone