MILAN — Giorgio Armani was feeling feisty on Monday, taking on some of his favorite targets at his postshow press conference: Anna Wintour, other Italian designers and the Camera della Moda. 
 
 
 
 His combative mood appeared to be triggered by the noticeable absence of Vogue’s editor in chief from his front row earlier in the morning. 
 
 
 
 “There are some who prefer to snub the Giorgio Armani show and go to Paris,” he said. Although the designer didn’t name names, there was little mystery as to whom he was referring. 
 
 
 
 “She took an airplane, dumped Mr. Armani and went to Paris,” continued Armani, who, in the past, has strongly criticized Wintour, accusing her of attempting to truncate Milan Fashion Week’s schedule and forcing designers to change their show dates. 
 
 
 
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 According to Armani, Wintour’s absence was due to the fact that he is the only major designer to show on the last day of Milan Fashion Week. 
 
 
 
 “Anna has the greatest respect for Giorgio Armani and everything he has done for Italy and fashion worldwide,” Vogue communications director Hildy Kuryk told WWD later in the afternoon. “Unfortunately, with the fashion calendar now running for more than a month, there are some shows that Anna is not able to attend.” 
 
 
 
 “When we decided to show the last day, other big brands were involved. But currently this is an empty day,” Armani said, accusing the Italian Fashion Chamber of inefficiency. “Does this mean protecting the Italian fashion? Where is the Camera? I rejoined it but I can always exit again. I can just put in a phone call….” 
 
 
 
 Armani couldn’t rein in his anger, nor his disappointment. “Why should I always be the moron [translating from an Italian expletive] to be penalized because of a person, who, for better or for worse, like or dislike it, is powerful? I feel penalized,” he noted. “She said she was sending her people. But if you go to see your dentist and he puts you in the hands of his assistant, what’s your reaction? They told me ‘She went to see the Privé in Paris; she has no time to see the ready-to-wear in Milan.’ She is influential and powerful. But, perhaps, I’m influential as well.” 
 
 
 
 A possible solution to keep power people in Milan for the duration of the shows could be to “take turns in showing on the last day,” Armani suggested. 
 
 
 
 “This is not an option,” retorted Camera della Moda president Mario Boselli, reached by phone later in the day. “But we met Mr. Armani earlier and he is totally fine now. In a certain way, it’s right that the important journalists stay until the end of the week, and next season, we will try to guarantee the presence of other big brands the last day.” 
 
 
 
 Armani set the tone for the press conference from the moment he sat down, needling the competition with Italian journalists: “I wanted to bring an owl with me this morning,” a reference to Dolce & Gabbana’s collection, which featured looks decorated with nocturnal birds of prey. 
 
 
 
 Armani spared no words in criticizing other Italian brands’ approach to fashion. “I think that the exaltation of the idea that designers can be just completely free to express their fantasy is really dangerous,” he said. “I’m very happy that others do what they do. I respect my colleagues. I’m happy with what I do, but I feel like a black swan in doing clothes with a function and with an attention to the commercial aspect. 
 
 
 
 “It’s very easy to do a V-neck dress with a bold print. It’s more difficult to make a suit or a jacket look new. It’s easier to freewheel,” he continued, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to this season’s Prada collection. 
 
 
 
 According to Armani, focusing on pure creativity and setting aside the business vision, Italy’s fashion companies cannot insist on receiving concrete help by the nation’s government institutions. 
 
 
 
 “Nobody is courageous enough to say that if the fashion industry wants to be supported by the Italian government, we have to offer a product which is not only smoke and mirrors but that has a functionality and can bring economic results,” he said. “Otherwise, fashion loses its credibility. 
 
 
 
 “We should talk about economy, competition. Others are copying us,” Armani pointed out, mentioning the case of “a store on Via Montenapoleone, which sells the same clothes I did 10 years ago.” The designer confirmed to journalists at the press conference that he was referring to Giada, a Chinese-backed Italian fashion label. ||||| Giorgio Armani takes aim at Anna Wintour 
 
 Mr Armani is not happy that Vogue editor Anna Wintour missed his latest show, and he wants everyone to know about it 
 
 BY Bibby Sowray | 25 February 2014 
 
 Photo: Rex 
 
 Anna Wintour was notable by her absence at yesterday's Giorgio Armani autumn/winter 2014 show, and Mr Armani was particularly annoyed. 
 
 Speaking at a post-show press conference, Armani said: "There are some who prefer to snub the Giorgio Armani show and go to Paris… She took an airplane, dumped Mr. Armani and went to Paris." 
 
 Armani's issues stem from the fact that he is the only major designer to show on the final day of Milan Fashion Week, meaning many members of the press have already moved on to the French capital in preparation for Paris Fashion Week, which runs for a further nine days, starting today. 
 
 READ: Giorgio Armani: I've sacrificed life for fashion 
 
 Wintour's representative at Condé Nast denied Armani's inference, telling WWD : "Anna has the greatest respect for Giorgio Armani and everything he has done for Italy and fashion worldwide. Unfortunately, with the fashion calendar now running for more than a month, there are some shows that Anna is not able to attend." 
 
 Armani went on to blame Milan Fashion Week's organisers, the National Chamber for Italian Fashion, of which he is a board member, for making the final day on the schedule an "empty" one. The criticism comes just months after Armani pledged to help relaunch the waning international fashion showcase, which has only Armani, Gucci, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana as its big draws. 
 
 He didn't stop there though, going on to make a veiled stab at fellow Italian brands that ignore "clothes with a function and with an attention to the commercial aspect" in favour of being "completely free to express their fantasy", calling the approach "really dangerous". 
 
 "It's very easy to do a V-neck dress with a bold print. It's more difficult to make a suit or a jacket look new. It's easier to freewheel," he said, making what was assumed to be a reference to Prada. ||||| On Monday evening, Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton, the curator of the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, sat down with former CNN journalist Alina Cho at the Met for the first in a series of such talks that Cho is doing with the museum, called "The Atelier with Alina Cho." The vibe onstage was remarkably laid-back and conversational, and Cho coaxed some pretty amazing tidbits out of Wintour, ranging from that controversial April Vogue Kimye cover, advice the EIC gives to new designers and her last day with Oscar de la Renta. 
 
 On that kontroversial Kimye kover: 
 
 "I see the role of Vogue to reflect what’s going on in the culture. The first celebrity that I put on the cover of Vogue was Madonna, and that was considered completely controversial at the time, too. It’s such a long time ago probably no one remembers, but she was a very controversial figure. Now she’s part of the establishment. I think if we just remain deeply tasteful and just put deeply tasteful people on the cover, it would be a rather boring magazine! Nobody would talk about us. It’s very important that people do talk about us. Going back to Estée Lauder’s decision to make Kendall Jenner the face of Estée Lauder. What a fantastic decision that was! They have a wonderful brand that’s very traditionally American, and they decided they want to shake it up and reach a different audience. Now and again one has to do things like that. I think it’s part of the excitement and part of being a journalist. I hope another Kim Kardashian comes along this year!" 
 
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 On her advice that new designers often ignore: 
 
 "In terms of what I tell young designers -- and I’m not sure any of them listen -- you need to remain focused, [and] find yourself a really good business partner. The other thing I urge them to do, and they certainly never listen to this, is it’s really worthwhile going to work for somebody else. So many of these young students come out of school and want to start their own businesses and that’s a slippery slope. It’s much better to go work for an existing designer and learn that way. But I think in today’s world where they think they can -- and [people] do become -- very famous overnight through social media, I think sometimes they are slightly misguided in thinking that they too can make a living that way." 
 
 On Oscar de la Renta's last words to her daughter, Bee Shaffer: 
 
 "He was so brave and so wonderful, joking with [Bee] about her love life... My daughter went over to kiss him goodbye and when we were driving off I said, 'What did Oscar say to you?' And she said, 'He said, 'Thank you for wearing my dress.' That’s the sort of man he was. To him the greatest pleasure was to see someone in his clothes. It was a joy for him. Life was a joy. He was the most extraordinary man. It’s unthinkable for me to think that he’s no longer with us. "
– Rowr: After Anna Wintour failed to show up at Giorgio Armani's autumn/winter 2014 fashion show yesterday in Milan, Armani did not hide his displeasure. "There are some who prefer to snub the Giorgio Armani show and go to Paris," he said at a press conference after the show, apparently referring to the Vogue editor. "She took an airplane, dumped Mr. Armani and went to Paris." The problem? Armani is the only big designer whose show was on the last day of Milan Fashion Week, so much of the press had already left for Paris Fashion Week, which starts today, the Telegraph reports. It's not the first time Wintour has skipped the Armani preview for that reason, the AP notes. According to the Irish Independent, Armani (whose tirade also included digs at the Milan Fashion Week organizers and other Italian designers) went on to say—while not naming Wintour—"Why should I always be the [moron] to be penalized because of a person, who, for better or for worse, like or dislike it, is powerful? I feel penalized. She said she was sending her people. But if you go to see your dentist and he puts you in the hands of his assistant, what’s your reaction? They told me, 'She went to see the Privé in Paris; she has no time to see the ready-to-wear in Milan.' She is influential and powerful. But, perhaps, I’m influential as well." As for Wintour, her rep tells Women's Wear Daily, "Anna has the greatest respect for Giorgio Armani and everything he has done for Italy and fashion worldwide. Unfortunately, with the fashion calendar now running for more than a month, there are some shows that Anna is not able to attend."