Fashion icon Armani wants to bring prestige to Milan Expo

'Silos Armani' will be a 'kind of Tate Gallery'

(ANSA) - Milan, June 23 - Italian designer Giorgio Armani is planning on bringing prestige to Milan Expo 2015 in the form of a mega-park and archive, in spite of worries about the upcoming World's Fair's organization.

The Milan designer is in the process of transforming the more than 24,000-square-meter former Nestlè factory into Silos Armani, an archive collection with an exhibition timed to the Expo's opening next spring. "I hope we'll be able to open it for May 2015, it is an important thing, not only a museum, but a kind of Tate Gallery", the designer told ANSA, adding "Aren't we all worried about making fools of ourselves?" Expo has been the center of a scandal since last month with several high-profile arrests were made over alleged corruption on contracts.

Meanwhile regional officials have warned that the event risks opening behind schedule. According to Armani, the goal of Silos Armani is to bring "prestige" to Milan, where his career began. The privately organized Silos Armani will coordinate with the city of Milan on daily openings, not to exceed more than "a few days weekly".