Giorgio Armani has designed vestments for a bishop for the
inauguration of a new church on the tiny Mediterranean island of
Pantelleria, where the designer has a holiday hideaway perched on top of
a cliff.
Wearing a mitre and holding his staff, Monsignor Domenico Mogavero,
the bishop of Mazara del Vallo in Sicily, showed off his new liturgical
robes during a thanksgiving Mass in the courtyard of the new church this
week.
The 76-year-old designer,
Italy's
fourth richest man with an estimated fortune of £4.2
billion, decorated the pale green robe with embroidered symbols of the
island, including starfish, shells and olive sprigs.
Armani has strong links to the island, an extinct volcano which lies
between Sicily and the coast of Tunisia, its name deriving from the
Arabic Bent el-Riah, or daughter of the winds.
He has been holidaying there for nearly 40 years and in 2006 was made an honorary citizen.
"It's not about trying to be fashionable," said the bishop. "It was
an initiative aimed at involving a fashion designer who loves
Pantelleria and to capitalise on his originality in the service of faith
and ultimately of God.
"I will see him this summer and I'll have the opportunity to thank him personally."
It is not the first time that the Catholic Church has been linked to the fashion world.
Benedict XVI was dubbed "the Prada Pope" after it was claimed that a
pair of striking red leather loafers he wore were made by the Italian
fashion house.
The Vatican denied the reports
and said the moccasins were instead produced by the pontiff's personal cobbler in Rome.