I remember telling Richard in 1980 that men’s clothes would become more Edwardian. I felt there was a kind of foppishness that was due to reoccur. Richard thought I was completely wrong, but a couple of years later I ran into him and he said: “You were right about that!” It was just around the corner, so it was simply a matter of who exploited it first.
Giorgio Armani was involved because of John Travolta. Travolta was originally going to star, and his manager suggested Armani because he knew that he was on the verge of becoming big. We all went to Milan and Giorgio was just getting ready to go into an international non-couture line, so the film synced up perfectly with what he was up to. John dropped out at the last moment and Richard came in, but we kept all the Armani clothes. It was just a matter of tailoring. (x)
Richard Gere in American Gigolo, 1980
