Giorgio Armani says successor need not be Italian

Milan

OCTOGENARIAN fashion designer Giorgio Armani said on Monday the image of his brand might benefit if he picked a successor - who did not necessarily have to be Italian - for when he retired.

Now 83 and still running the company he founded in the 1970s, Mr Armani has never made explicit who he would want to take over the reins at Italy's second-biggest fashion house once he steps down.