Gio by Giorgio Armani c1992

Gio by Giorgio Armani: launched in 1992. Composed by the perfumers at Givaudan Roure. In USA in 1993.

Gio, pronounced "Joe", is short for Giorgio (Armani's nickname) and is pronounced "Joe." which was to replace Armani's original self-titled Armani fragrance from 1982. Giorgio Armani stated that "it is the perfume expression of the principles that govern my life." Created by Françoise Caron.

Gio was launched in Europe in September 1992 and in the USA in February 1993.  In July, 1992, the European evening launch party was held at Armani's country estate 50 miles south of Milan, Italy. He invited 250 guests to experience the fragrance at his rose colored villa with its extensive veranda overlooking cypress tree-lined paths, surrounded by thick lawns, complete with a pond full of swans gliding across the placid water. Notable guests included actress Lauren Bacall, and actor Christopher Lambert.

Director David Lynch of Twin Peaks fame completed a 30 second black and white commercial for the fragrance. The director was chosen by Armani "because Lynch has very clear ideas and you have to let him work." Next was to find a beautiful face to represent the brand in advertising , Armani explained that he needed "a woman who goes with the name. It couldn't be Yasmeen Ghauri. And it's not Claudia Schiffer, she's so tied to the moment, maybe in a year she'll be gone." 

Armani chose Lara Harris, an American model to be the face of the fragrance. The final choice was "ambitious - not a classic beauty". She was the star of the launch party, clad in an Armani creation: a low-backed peach-colored chiffon gown. Lynch also made a 2 1/2 minute spot titled "Who is Gio?" featuring Harris caught between the romance of a stuffy dinner in an elegant villa and dancing wildly to a frenzied Latin jazz band late into the evening. This was previewed at the launch party.

The US launch party was held at a purposefully remodeled office space in the Solow Building on February 4, 1993. Armani invited 450 lucky souls to a Matisse inspired Moroccan gala to benefit Women in Need, a NY non-profit social services organization. The sumptuous gala included a fashion show featuring the upcoming spring collections and dinner on the entire 38th floor. Party decorator Robert Isabell spent several months and made two trips to Europe so he could recreate Armani's showroom in Milan complete with catwalk. Employing thousands of rose blossoms, boxed lemon trees and yards of fabric he was able to transform the space into a Moroccan pleasure palace. Total cost of the event was reportedly around $2 million.

Guests nibbled on such delights as lamb and chicken couscous, blood orange sorbet and caviar tart all served by handsome men dressed in white Moroccan styled ensembles. A squad of sensuous belly dancers shimmied and undulated through the crowd just before dessert was served while the guests reclined North African style on specially made divans plumped up with silk cushions. To lend an air of authenticity, the low tables were covered with sisal like straw tablecloths, draped hemp, brass dinnerware and a tented ceiling. Cork floors were brought in and hand painted to resemble Moroccan mosaic tiles, an atmosphere of a desert panorama was around the dining area including a mirage of an oasis.

Guests included Pat and his wife Chris Riley, Spike Lee, Sigourney Weaver, Carl Bernstein, Russell Simmons, Robert DeNiro, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Anna Sui, Martin Scorsese, Whoopi Goldberg, Cher, Dustin Hoffman, Isabella Rossellini, Charlie Rose, Uma Thurman, Jim Belushi, Gregory Hines, Al Pacino, Joan Rivers, Eric Clapton and many others. 

Armani donated $200,000 to the Women in Need foundation. All the furniture and party decor was donated to various charities around New York City.

The gala was followed up by an intimate lunch for 12 at Le Grenouille the next day.

Armani was involved in the creation of the fragrance and claimed it was a "huge, hard job. It costs a fortune to do. And I pay a lot of attention because I don't want to make a mistake on perfume - that would be very negative." 

New York Magazine, 1993:

"Though Cosmair — one of the world's largest fragrance distributors — licensed the new product, Armani himself orchestrated every last detail. He chose the scent, the shape of the bottle, the parchment packaging, the sales ads, and the sales assistants mustard coat dresses."

At first he was frustrated by the field of fragrance, as the world was constantly treated to new launches. he complained "there are too many names, just like ready-to-wear, and people don't have the money to buy them. There's this habit now to launch two or three new perfumes from one name in a year and it's impossible. If the fragrance is OK, then certainly everything that comes after - the way you market it- is important. but if the fragrance isn't OK, no matter what you do, people won't believe it. The key is to know how to capture the right fragrance. My goal is to create a sophisticated perfume that has a sense of age - a perfume that can grow old with a person. A perfume that could go from generation to generation. I'd like to think that this perfume will always be on a woman's dressing table. She might try others, but this would always remain a point of reference, like the perfumes of once upon a time."

Gio was introduced into the USA by Cosmair, the US licensee of L'Oreal, SA.

Global Marketing Management, 1999:

"Cosmair sells Tresor and Giorgio Armani Gio to the upper end of the market and Gloria Vanderbilt to the lower end."

Fragrance Composition:

Armani worked with the master chemists at Givaudan-Roure to develop the scent who extracted the fresh aura of a living flower via gas chromatography. "I wanted to share my world with the women who understand my style", said Armani. He described the perfume "not to strong or violent, resembling the past a little but with a modern note." 

The scent is a mix of summer fruits of mandarin orange and peaches, followed by a heart of opulent roses, lush orange blossoms, narcotic tuberose, fresh gardenias, subtly punctuated with spices such as cloves and cinnamon and layered over warm base notes of amber, sandalwood and vanilla. 

The skillfully blended fragrance blooms beautifully upon the skin of the wearer, "allowing every personality to be (a) protagonist", claimed Armani. He went on to say "if one manages to find the right perfume for one's skin, it's a beautiful thing. It is something that lasts, that people remember."

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So what does it smell like? It is classified as a fruity floral fragrance for women. green floral and floral fragrance. The perfume opens with fresh green notes and hyacinth at the top, a feminine floral heart of gardenia, jasmine, orange blossom, tuberose and a hint of peach, deepening into a sensual blend of wood, amber and vanilla.

Press materials describe it as a "Green floral and floral fragrance. Top note: a freshness above all else. Pure roseate notes, accompanied by green notes, combine their aqueous freshness with the true fragrance of Egyptian hyacinth in a blend which is floral, natural, simple and refined. Its heart, the most feminine flowers are revealed: gardenia, jasmine, above all orange blossom and tuberose. The heady scent of these velvety white petalled flowers gives it its sophistication. A touch of fruit - a hint of peach flesh - adds a subtle veil of sensuality. At its base, wood, amber and vanilla, from where the flowers bloom."

• Top notes: Brazilian rosewood, Egyptian hyacinth, violet, jasmine, rose, bergamot, and Sicilian mandarin  
• Middle notes: peach, cinnamon, orange blossom, gardenia, cassia, clove, lily of the valley, myrrh, ylang-ylang, red rose, tuberose, carnation, green jasmine and orris  
• Base notes: Mysore sandalwood, vanilla, styrax, Atlas cedar, musk and amber 

Bottle:

Presented in a bottle designed by Giorgio Armani in collaboration with Michel Blanc. It was produced by BSN. The fragrance's logo is written in Armani's handwriting. The bottle was inspired by a 1930s perfume bottle. It is a direct copy of the bottles used by Houbigant with their rounded shoulders and gilded cap. 

Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued.

CLICK HERE TO FIND THE ORIGINAL GIO BY GIORGIO ARMANI

Acqua di Giò by Armani Parfums: 

Acque di Gio was launched in 1995 as a flanker scent to the original. Created by Firmenich. It is classified as a fresh aquatic floral fragrance for women. It is "a floral aquatic fragrance that is watery transparent. Sweet pea and marine notes are on the top and are supported by a fresh floral and fruity middle of hyacinth, jasmine, freesia and muscatel grape. Musky wood notes comprise the dry down."

• Top notes: ozone, marine notes, green leaves, sweet pea, pineapple, plum, peach, grapefruit, marigold and lemon
• Middle notes: freesia, muscat grape, jasmine, white hyacinth, cyclamen, lily of the valley, carnation and ylang-ylang 
• Base notes: musk and sandalwood.

Presented in a blue-green bottle with a domed cap. 

CLICK HERE TO FIND ACQUA DI GIO BY GIORGIO ARMANI