Armani's Male Dress Code

Giorgio Armani  has never been backwards about coming forwards when it comes to making his opinions heard, as his latest comments on the way homosexual men should dress prove.

"A homosexual man is a man 100 per cent. He does not need to dress homosexual," the veteran designer told The Sunday Times Magazine."When homosexuality is exhibited to the extreme - to say, 'Ah, you know I'm homosexual,' - that has nothing to do with me. A man has to be a man."

As to what "dressing homosexual" looks like, Armani doesn't elaborate, although he readily admits to his aesthetic being associated with restraint rather than flamboyance, insisting the word "boring" isn't necessarily such a bad thing.

"Boring? Some people do say that and probably rightly so. But the tough war is not with the critics, it is with my clients. They want Armani. I design for the public, not the fashion industry."

He is full of praise for his peers though, citing Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent as designers who "did not only make clothes, they made society." And as for him?

"I use my creativity to help people live my style - a simple, elegant style," he said. "Fashions purpose is to make it easier and more elegant to live. Otherwise, what is it about? It's just a game. Worth nothing."