I first came to know Giorgio Armani via the cinema. He was the visionary behind some of the most famous film wardrobes – American Gigolo, The Untouchables, Goodfellas – and the hallmarks of his style were seeped deep in my subconscious long before I knew his name. Armani has remained a colossus, with a €2.3bn empire that straddles everything from fragrances to suiting, and from hotels to floristry.

Next month will mark his 50th year in business. Yet even now, at the age of 91 and following a summer of health issues, the designer retains an iron grip on all that he commands. Still the sole shareholder of his business, Armani is one of the rare independents in the industry. His success has been built on personal connections, side projects and a ferocious – some might say obsessive – focus on the details. As Alexander Fury observes in a rare interview with him, Armani’s early medical training inculcated in him an intellectual rigour and, perhaps, a flair for those scalpel-sharp silhouettes. Alongside our profile, we have interviewed 21 designers, actors and friends to assess his legacy. I echo a common refrain when I say there is no one like Armani. And there will likely never be. 

A first for HTSI: this week we offer you an autumn beauty special, full of products chosen by our editors that we insist will help you glow, featuring Adeela Crown on problem skin, everyday essentials from Ellie Pithers and Louis Wise’s grooming buys for men on the go. We’ll be needing everything in double dollops from here on, as our production schedule is about to ramp up post the summer snooze. We’ll be with you every Saturday from now until the end of the year. As for beauty, it was my task to recommend those products that work on a “mature” skin. Ageing is a brutal process from which, tragically, even HTSI editors are not immune. I hope you appreciate my efforts to restore the “youthful bloom”.

In Mayfair, I have been watching with fascination the transformation of the old US embassy into a hotel. In spite of its architectural pedigree (the building was designed by the Finnish-American Eero Saarinen), the diplomatic building always seemed a soulless monolith. I used to go there for visa appointments and could never imagine that its Orwellian corridors and offices might one day translate as “luxury hotel”. The Chancery Rosewood, however, soft-launched following a reinvention under the direction of Sir David Chipperfield earlier this month. We sent FT architecture and design critic Edwin Heathcote to become Guest No 1 and give his verdict on the space. I won’t spill all the details, but the words “hottest reservation in London” may have passed his lips.

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THREE MORE STORIES TO READ THIS WEEK

Illustrator Oamul Lu: ‘I often get my best ideas in the shower’ The Shanghai-based artist talks taste How Merit monopolised the clean-girl beauty market The $100mn brand has built a hyper-loyal following by keeping things simple Should I be taking creatine? The experts weigh in on the wellness buzz

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