>> Giorgio Armani has niece Roberta Armani increasingly stepping in for him in the public eye as a brand ambassador and just released the newest set of underwear ads featuring David Beckham this morning, but the brand face we're most interested in is Raquel Zimmermann, whose Fall 2009 ads for Armani — the first of many for her this season — are starting to pop up.  The same team was used for Fall 2009 as for Spring 2009: stylist Katy England with Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, but Raquel replaces Sasha Pivovarova as the face of the brand.

>> INSIDER WIRE —This week, Giorgio Armani, "the wealthiest fashion designer on the planet," is blogging while in New York for a store opening — it's like a window into his mind. He has plenty to say on Americans: "Americans overcook their pasta. Always. And there’s too much sauce. Too much of everything! Please, try to control yourselves," and  "I’ve noticed that Americans never block out the light properly in bedrooms. In Europe we like to close ourselves off in the dark."  He also taped an interview for The Rachel Zoe Project: "[Rachel] was wearing a feather coat (nice, but not mine) and very high pin needle heels. I went up on my tiptoes to see if I could be taller." [The Moment, The Moment]

>> Back in October, Giorgio Armani didn't seem very keen on pulling a Valentino and retiring — especially since he had no heir in line — but at 74, he's still looking into other contigency plans for his privately-owned label.  In fact, odd as it may seem, he explored — unsuccessfully — a merger with Hermes, in hopes to unite the companies’ strengths in clothes and accessories.  If it had gone through, he maintains, the deal “could have been something fantastic. Hermes has such class, such prestige.”  The dealbreaker, according to Armani, was that there were too many Hermes family shareholders to reach an agreement.

The alternatives left include going public with a stock market listing — which Armani ruled out, and acquisition offers from other bigger companies, which Armani has so far turned down.  As for an heir, he's still looking, but without much success: "If I’m no longer the one that takes a bow at the end of the fashion show, then we’ll find another solution, though it’s hard to imagine what that might be.  I keep trying to find people who can do things for me. In the end I am always the one who does them.”  In the meantime, he's giving more responsibility to his relatives — niece Roberta Armani handles celebrity relations for the company, and nephew Andrea Camarena sits on the board and runs marketing and licensing.
*image: source