Model Agnes Žogla told De la Repubblica: “Giorgio Armani gave me a future.” For 16 years, she was the stylist’s favorite model and one of 62 people invited to his private funeral: “He wanted me to always be there.”
Anyone who has ever seen an Armani fashion show has seen Agnes Žoglu. For 16 years, she worked exclusively with the designer, opening and closing almost all his shows, becoming a permanent person in his world. She was practically one of the family, as evidenced by her presence at the designer’s very private funeral, attended by only 62 people.
On what she thought when she heard of his death, Agnes said: “I couldn’t believe it. I know he was 91 years old, but I was sure he would be with us for a long time. Now when I walk into the office on Via Borgonuovo, I can almost see him there, telling me to hurry because there is so much to do.”
Agnes started working at Armani in 2009, when she was 29 years old and had just signed a contract with Valentino.
“I was retired as a model. I was going to return home to Latvia, but my agency told me that Armani wanted to see me at the Privé haute couture show in Paris.”
Remembering their show, Agnes said that it was a shock because there were two days left until the show and the models had been rehearsing until 5 o’clock in the morning.
“We thought we could sleep longer. Instead, at eight they called us: Armani wanted to try again. We rushed to the atelier exactly as we were. When he saw us, he blurted out: ‘You look like a corpse without make-up.’ I ran to the bathroom to fix my makeup.”
Speaking about how their relationship developed, Agnes says: “At first I didn’t see him often, only when he was in the studio working on clothes, and he wanted me to be there all the time. Over time, he spent more and more time in the sewing workshop, I was by his side, because that’s what he liked the most.
“We became close. I thought I fit his ideal of a woman: tall, slim, with short hair, and I never struggled to get noticed.”
Agnes’ mother’s dream was to become a model, but she did not succeed. At the age of 16, she forced Agnes to participate in a competition. She applied with her best friend: she chose Agnes over her friend. From then on, she never spoke to Agnes again, which Agnes was shocked by.
date:2026-02-08 06:08:00
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