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Armani guest edits British national newspaper
2006-09-22
Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani guest edited a British national newspaper, hours before he was set to stage a star-studded fashion show in London to help AIDS victims. Half of all revenues from the special Africa edition of The Independent, featuring model Kate Moss on the cover, will go to fighting the disease in the continent. Armani was to host his first London show late Thursday featuring stars such as US actor Leonardo Di Caprio and singer Beyonce to show off a new range of clothing for the anti-AIDS initiative "Product Red". "Product Red" involves brands including clothing company Gap and mobile phone firm Motorola which will donate part of the profits from the branded products to fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The paper featured an article on the daily struggles of African women, as well as a diary piece by actress Ashley Judd, who visted Madagascar as ambassador for YouthAIDS charity. In one article by Armani, he wrote that, "as an ordinary man", he is saddened by the world around him. "I see a place where the innocence of childhood is being eroded by hardship and sickness, by fear and danger and poverty," he told readers. The newspaper's magazine featured contributions from actor George Clooney and billionaire Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates. The Independent has previously been edited by U2 lead singer and anti-poverty activist Bono, the co-founder of "Product Red". Armani also used his slot as editor to step into the debate over whether London Fashion Week should follow the lead of Madrid and ban ultra-skinny models. He wrote that there had been "a particular lack of balance in this discussion", while admitting that he always used models "on the slender side". "This was because the clothes I design and the sort of fabrics I use need to hang correctly on the body," he said. "But I do not feel responsible for setting a trend towards models who look anorexic ... unfortunately, there are a lot of young women who never accept that they are thin enough -- and this is an illness. "In my view, all women want to look much slimmer than they are, and this encourages them to be very careful about what they eat." Supermodel Erin O'Connor also joined the debate, calling on designers to look at their attitudes to model sizes. "I can only speak from my own experience, but the designers also have a responsibility to look at what's going on and accommodate slightly more to the individual," she said.
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