Ferzan Ozpetek to direct Giorgio Armani series for Lux Vide
- Produced with Faros Film and supported by the Giorgio Armani fashion house, the international biographical project will draw on the company’s archives, creations and landmark locations
Lux Vide, belonging to the Fremantle group, has launched production on a major new series inspired by the life and career of late Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani. Ferzan Ozpetek (Diamonds, Hamam: The Turkish Bath, the series The Ignorant Angels) will direct the project and is co-writing the screenplay with Francesco Arlanch.
Conceived as an international television event, the as-yet-untitled series will chart Armani’s personal and professional journey, examining the ambition, creativity and determination behind the construction of one of the world’s most recognisable luxury brands. According to the producers, the drama will offer an intimate portrait of Armani as an entrepreneur, innovator and creative figure while exploring the development of the understated aesthetic that helped redefine modern Italian elegance.
The Giorgio Armani fashion house has agreed to support the production, granting the team access to its archives, designs and several locations closely associated with the designer and his company. This collaboration is expected to allow the series to recreate different stages of Armani’s career and provide a detailed view of his creative methods and working environment.
Born in Piacenza in 1934, Armani initially studied medicine before beginning his fashion career in the Milanese department store, La Rinascente. He later worked as a menswear designer for Nino Cerruti and founded Giorgio Armani SpA with Sergio Galeotti in Milan in 1975. The designer’s relaxed, deconstructed approach to tailoring challenged the more rigid silhouettes dominant at the time and became an internationally recognised expression of Italian style.
Cinema played a particularly important role in the brand’s global expansion. Armani created Richard Gere’s wardrobe for Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo in 1980, beginning a long-running relationship with Hollywood and screen costume design. He subsequently dressed performers for numerous films, awards ceremonies and red-carpet appearances, helping to establish the now-ubiquitous relationship between luxury fashion houses and international film culture. Armani died in Milan in September 2025, aged 91, several months after his company celebrated its 50th anniversary. The house’s official history records its development from the first ready-to-wear collections to a global business spanning fashion, beauty, interiors, hospitality and sport.
The project is also a natural continuation of Ozpetek’s recent exploration of fashion and costume. His ensemble feature Diamonds was largely set inside a 1970s Roman costume atelier and paid tribute to the women whose craftsmanship shores up the film industry. The picture became the director’s biggest Italian box-office success and received both the David di Donatello Audience Award and the Nastro d’Argento for Film of the Year. Faros Film, which is associated with the new Armani series, was also among the producers of Diamonds.
The Turkish-Italian director made his feature debut with Hamam: The Turkish Bath, presented in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 1997. His subsequent films include The Ignorant Fairies, Facing Windows, Loose Cannons, Naples in Veils, The Goddess of Fortune and the Netflix feature Nuovo Olimpo. His television work includes the eight-part Disney+ drama The Ignorant Angels, which he created with Gianni Romoli and adapted from his own 2001 film The Ignorant Fairies.
Arlanch, meanwhile, is one of Lux Vide’s principal writers. His credits include the internationally successful medical drama Doc – Nelle tue mani, the historical series Medici and the Prime Video production Hotel Costiera. Doc has been sold in more than 100 countries and has generated adaptations including Fox’s US remake.
The Armani project will be produced by Lux Vide in association with Faros Film. Lux Vide’s recent international slate includes Sandokan (see the news), Hotel Costiera, Devils, Leonardo and Medici. The firm also operates seven sound stages and more than 15,000 square metres of production facilities in its Formello studios near Rome.
Further details concerning the series are yet to be disclosed.
As a reminder, another, feature-length, Armani biopic is in the works, helmed by Bille August (see the news).
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