Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani has been blamed for killing Milan's cultural centre by a local government official, the Independent reports.

Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, Milan’s culture boss, made his comments just days before Milan Fashion Week kicks off in response to Armani's claim that Milan had become morbid. Flory said: "The great Milanese brands, with Giorgio Armani in the lead, criticise the city a lot but do nothing for it.

"Those who say that il quadrilatero" - the "square" of streets, with Via Montenapoleone as one of its sides, which is Milan’s fashion hub - "is dead are the same people who have played a role in killing it".

Armani had previously claimed: "The centre of Milan is dead, that’s the reality. For the past week I have been in Montenapoleone until 11pm for the opening of my new shop, and after 8pm when the shops close there is not a soul on the street."

Flory said that he thinks the designers are to blame and that those who grew rich in the city should do more to benefit it.

He said: "For years we have been waiting for the great names of Italian fashion to invest in the area. The big-name brands use the city’s cultural heritage to give allure to their brands, and they use art to sell their clothes, I would expect them to support the art museums at least. But nothing, just criticism. Zero proposals. Milan has not received a cent from the designers."

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