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The Globalist
Trump’s deadline for Putin is up – will anything change? Plus: the life and legacy of Giorgio Armani
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- [00:04]
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Emma Nelson
You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on the 5th of September, 2025 on Monocor Radio. The Globalist in association with U Live from London. This is THE Globalist with me, Emma Nelson. A very warm welcome to today's program. Coming up, see what happens. I think over the next two weeks we're going to find out which way.
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Jenny Mathers
It'S going to go and I better be very happy.
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Emma Nelson
But deadline? What deadline? Donald Trump's warnings to Russia to stop the invasion of Ukraine or else fail to lead to any action. We'll examine what consequences this has for Kyiv. Also ahead in the next 60 minutes, the UAE warns Israel against annexing the west bank. But will Israel listen?
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Tyler Brûlé
And the foundation was built around this man and it was unswerving.
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Emma Nelson
Our editorial director on the enduring power of Giorgio Armani, plus the papers and will be live in Barcelona as Monocle's Quality of Life conference swings into action. That's all coming up on the Globalist live from London. First, a quick look at what else is happening in today's news. The parliament in Thailand is meeting to vote in a new prime minister following the sacking of the previous incumbent, Paitong Tang Shinawat. Meanwhile, her father, the former prime minister and billionaire Thaksin Shinawat, has fled the country. The White House says President Trump will sign an executive order to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. And Donald Trump? Trump has lowered the tariffs on Japanese Automobile imports to 15%. The figure is down from 27.5%. Stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on these stories. But first, is this the most serious example yet of Donald Trump chickening out, or taco, as it has now become? Trump always chickens out. The US President gave Vladimir Putin more than one deadline regarding Moscow and the urgent need to stop its invasion of Ukraine. The most recent was set shortly after the two men, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, met in Alaska a fortnight ago. Mr. Trump said he would wait for two weeks to see if there is any progress towards peace in Ukraine. All those two weeks have passed and there has been progress, but in the opposite direction. Russia has stepped up its offensive and a reported 3,372 missiles and drones have been launched against Ukraine since that Alaska meeting. Well, Jenny Mathers is senior Lecturer in International Politics at Aberystwyth University, and she joins me once again on the line. Very good morning to you, Jenny. Welcome back to Monocle Radio.
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Jenny Mathers
Thank you. Good morning.
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Emma Nelson
So the focus on this is the number of threats that Donald Trump has issued to Vladimir Putin. Have we lost count now?
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Jenny Mathers
I think we have lost count now. They come so often that, you know, they're almost. Well, they are meaningless basically at this point because they never are backed up with any substantial action. We just have a threat and then a lowering of the threat and then another threat later on. So, you know, it's pretty clear that Trump has really no intention of pushing Russia or putting pressure on it in any meaningful way.
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Emma Nelson
What pressure has he threatened to put on Vladimir Putin? Because that little clip that we heard at the beginning of the program when he said, you know, I'd better be very happy, there doesn't seem to be a sort of tangible meaning or anything to what his words say.
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Jenny Mathers
No, I mean, the most concrete threats that he has made have been related to secondary tariffs, the. On countries that purchase energy from Russia. And he has actually, you know, the one thing that he has done is introduced new tariffs on India because it allegedly. Because it does import energy from Russia. Although the other story about this tariff is that it actually has to do more with a personal argument between himself and Prime Minister Modi. So, you know, yes, there's been a little bit of tangible outcome, but not very much. And the only specific things that Trump tends to mention are this idea of secondary tariffs, because tariffs are his solution to most of the world's problems as far as he's concerned. Otherwise, it's left remarkably vague.
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Emma Nelson
What is stopping him from following through?
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Jenny Mathers
Well, I think his own sympathy towards Russia is what's stopping him from following through, really. I mean, what we've seen very consistently, not only during this administration, but in. In the campaign that led up to it, is that, you know, Russia is. Is somehow more sympathetic. It's more credible to. To Trump. Trump obviously admires Putin personally. You know, sees him as a strong leader of the sort that Trump wants to be. He seems to find Putin's arguments persuasive. He does not seem to have any sympathy at all for Ukraine. And Ukrainians and their international supporters have to work really hard to budge Trump even a little bit away from his sympathy. And, you know, he seems to snap back straight away towards, you know, blaming Ukraine for the war and now, he's also indicated that he might put sanctions on Ukraine as well as on Russia. So, you know, he really has a very sort of deep seated sympathy for Russia, which, which doesn't seem to be easily budged.
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Emma Nelson
Is there also a deep seated sympathy or indeed an interest in the possibility of opening up trade once again with Russia?
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Jenny Mathers
Absolutely. And this is where I think Trump really wants to go. He wants to get this messy business of the war out of the way so that he can get on to what he really wants to do, which is doing trade deals with Russia, maybe having a Trump Tower in Moscow, you know, all these kinds of things. This is where his interest really lies. And the war is an impediment. And of course, if he, if he manages to persuade the world that he's into the war, then that perhaps is another step towards his often stated ambition of achieving the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Emma Nelson
And this absence of action by the United States, what effect does that have on everyone else? Let's begin with Russia. It is emboldened.
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Jenny Mathers
Oh, absolutely. You know, Putin clearly sees that there is no obstacle in his path coming from Washington to doing whatever Putin wants to do in Ukraine. And the acceleration of attacks on Ukraine during the Trump administration, after all of these threats from Trump, that just demonstrates that, you know, Putin doesn't think that there are going to be any consequences of any significance coming to him if he continues to attack, you know, Ukrainian cities and kill more civilians. So, absolutely, it has emboldened Putin.
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Emma Nelson
Let's move on to the reaction from everybody else. This. This does what for Ukraine? I mean, you've mentioned already that Ukraine drifts in and out of Trump's sympathies, but it does not find itself in a, in a permanent place. The fact remains, though, is it destabilizes Ukraine's strategy, but the rest of the world has to step up as a result, doesn't it?
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Jenny Mathers
Yes, it puts more pressure on Ukraine's other international supporters, and particularly those in Europe. And, and this is where we get to with the, this coalition of the willing which has been meeting in Paris and has come up with this, you know, plan, which is becoming a little bit clearer for security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or a peace arrangement. So under these ideas, the Europeans would provide most of the heavy lifting, but they still want some backup from the Americans in specific areas.
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Emma Nelson
Tell me a little more, though, about the idea that were Trump to impose direct, harder, harsher sanctions on Russia, would that actually have any effect on Russia at all? As you have mentioned before, that Donald Trump sees trade as the way to solve conflict. Would the imposition of incredibly strict sanctions, there are some now already. Would that actually force Russia to do anything? Or does Russia even need threat or need to be threatened by America to change its view?
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Jenny Mathers
Well, what we've seen is that Russia has succeeded in putting together its own sort of international co coalition of the willing, if you like, in the, the form of countries like China and India that, that continue to buy Russian energy and provide it with much needed income in the form of, of countries like North Korea and Iran that supply it with weapons and indeed, you know, North Korea supplies it with troops. So, you know, Russia has its own international supporters and it relies very heavily on these. These are countries that do not observe the sanctions and actively help Russia to evade them. So, yes, there is a big question about how effective such additional economic sanctions of secondary tariffs would actually be even if the Trump administration were willing to impose them. It's also really clear that what Putin is concerned about is what happens on the battlefield. That is how he measures success or failure of his own kind of war effort. And that is how he measures, you know, what Ukraine is doing and what the west is or is not willing to do. So I think a big surge of supplying weapons and financial aid to the Ukrainians to bolster their ability to fight the war would be the thing that would make the most difference.
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Emma Nelson
And there does, however, seem to be a slight gap here with the reaction from the European Union or the Europeans. We had the so called coalition of the willing gather together in Paris yesterday and there have been strong words and strong pledges from the likes of Emmanuel Macron who said that there would be boots on the ground. Countries have committed to placing soldiers in Ukraine were a ceasefire to come about. The post war infrastructure by Europe seems to be absolutely on the right track. But that jumping up to step in to replace Trump as the organization that wields the stick against Russia does seem to not be there yet.
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Jenny Mathers
No, and I think that reflects two things. One is a certain amount of caution on the part of the Europeans about, you know, endangering their own troops, obviously, and, and what this might mean for them. We see this with the, the stance of the Germans, for example, and the Italians. But also I think it reflects the fact that the Europeans haven't given up on trying to turn Trump around and trying to keep him on side, you know, this is something that they, you know, it's, it's been a pillar of European security since the end of the Second World War. You know, the fact that the US Is there provide security guar as a reliable ally. And this is obviously something that the European leaders have a hard time letting go of and recognizing that actually under this administration that has really changed significantly. The question now is to what extent and when might the Europeans make that shift, where they decide that actually they cannot depend upon the Americans any longer and they have to, you know, take more decisive action and they're going to have to take it without Washington.
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Emma Nelson
Jenny Mathers from Aberystwyth University, thank you so much for joining us on the Globalist. The time is what, 10:12 in Abu Dhabi and 7:12am here in London. Now, the rhetoric towards Israel and its friends is hardening. The United Arab Emirates has warned that were Israel to annex the occupied west bank, it would be crossing a red line. The Emiratis argue that such a move would mark the end of the two state solution. Well, I'm joined from Dubai by Inzamam Rashid, who's Monocle's Gulf correspondent. Good morning in Zamam.
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Inzamam Rashid
Morning, Emma.
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Emma Nelson
Just explain to us Israel's plan and the UAE's objection to it.
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Inzamam Rashid
Yeah, so this is Bezalel Smotrich is planned, the Israeli finance minister, and he's preparing maps. He did a press conference just recently that would basically see Israel annex as much as 82% of the west bank, leaving only a handful of Palestinian cities outside of Israel's control. It's part of what he's described as securing maximum territory with minimum Palestinians language, which makes it pretty clear of the political intent behind these maps. It's unclear, I think it's fair to say it's unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to back the plan fully. But the fact that this is being discussed at cabinet level has already triggered alarm bells across the region. And in response, the uae, which has usually been quiet on these kind of conversations that Israel has been having, the UAE has offered behind the scenes diplomacy. Well, not this time because Speaking at the UN, the UAE's ambassador and assistant Minister for Political affairs in the Foreign Ministry, Lana Nussebi, said plainly that annexation would be a red line for my government. It would undermine the spirit of the Abraham Accords and there can be no lasting peace on those terms. She went further warning that annexation would spell the end of regional integration. And they're pretty strong words from a country that only in 2020 took the bold step of normalizing ties with Israel. I think the big question is, is will Jerusalem listen to this. The UAE's warning has been relayed directly to the White House as well, signaling that Abu Dhabi wants Washington firmly in the loop of all this. But will Benjamin Netanyahu's government heed this call? So far, I think the coalition's far right partners are pushing hard for annexation and there's little sign that Israel is prepared to back down.
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Emma Nelson
Indeed. And you mentioned the fact that this warning was given at the un, but it was also given in an interview to the Times of Israel as well. Therefore, there is this direct appeal to Israelis actually to heed the UAE's warning. How much of an influence do think that might have?
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Inzamam Rashid
Yeah, that was very interesting. And that was in turn also shared by a very senior member of the government here, Anwar Gargash, who advises directly the Prime Minister of the uae. He shared that on X. Just reiterating the quote that was given to the Times of Israel. And I think that shows two elements, right? It shows that the UAE is very close to Israel and can have those direct conversations with them. But also it's really showing a change in their mindset, a change in their approach to all of this. And also putting out there that this does threaten the Abraham Accords and undermines that decision that was made about five or six years ago now.
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Emma Nelson
And what could the wider regional effect be? The UAE does not have a long, strong reputation of speaking out on issues such as this to develop a stronger voice. Will have what effect?
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Inzamam Rashid
Well, look, it matters regionally, emma, because in 2020, the UAE became the first Arab country in 26 years to normalize relations with Israel under these accords, with Bahrain and Morocco following soon after. And Abu Dhabi has since deepened trade, defence, tourism ties with Israel and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. And they've made a priority to expand Pak to other AR nations, particularly Saudi Arabia. And these accords were meant to be about building bridges between the Arab nations and Israel. Annexation risks tearing that down completely. I think by going public, the UAE is probably reasserting itself as the regional power broker. This isn't just about its relationship with Israel. It's about sending a message across the sea to Riyadh, to Manama, in Bahrain and beyond as well. And I don't think that there are any limits to normalization if the palace Palestinian issue is ignored. And then when you look at what's happening in Europe, with countries like France, the uk, even Canada as well, moving towards recognizing a Palestinian state at the UN, I think the UAE's position may carry extra weight on the international stage.
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Emma Nelson
In Zaman Rashid Monocles Gulf correspondent on the line from Dubai. Thank you so much for joining me. Still to come on today's program, this is what you could end up looking.
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Jenny Mathers
Like if you eat some of the.
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Andrew Muller
Raw frozen shrimp being sent to the United States by other countries.
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Emma Nelson
We'll find out what we learned this week. Stay with us on Monocle Radio.
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Emma Nelson
It's what, 7:18 here in London? Time to have a look at the newspapers. Joining me, Terry Stiazny, political journalist and author of Believable the Misfits who Fought Churchill's Secret Propaganda of All. Good morning, Terry. Good morning. How are you? How's the book going?
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Terry Stiazny
Yeah, it's going well. Doing lots of events over the next few weeks. Festivals and talks and podcasts and.
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Emma Nelson
Yeah. So yeah.
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Terry Stiazny
Well, thank you for sell some books.
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Emma Nelson
Thank you for sparing the time to return to one of your more regular beats, which is the Newspaper Review. We've got stories what from the Times Telegraph to go through this morning. What have we spotted? You wanted to talk about the sort of like the six month report issued to the American Health Secretary.
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Terry Stiazny
Yes, I think this, this is really interesting. I mean, you know, it's a real back to school week this week, I guess, and that includes the U.S. congress and Senate and one of the people, we had Nigel Farage up speaking to them earlier and they've also been talking to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In what seems to have been a really heated hearing. And you know, he was accused of letting, according to the Times report here, letting conspiracy theorists, crackpots and grifters determine the US's vaccine policy. And it's always quite interesting to watch these hearings because you think, I'm not sure how much the senators there are trying to get at actual facts or news. A lot of it seems to be people grandstanding a bit and doing a big speech about why Robert Kennedy is wrong in this case. This was one of the senators really attacking him for getting rid of vaccine and experts from the Centers for Disease Prevention. I mean this is, you know, it's quite a big crisis, it's a big problem. But you just wonder how much you're actually finding out the facts and how much it's a chance for people to give their big sort of political speeches.
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Emma Nelson
It'S an interesting point you raise because I wonder whether that is because the effects of any policy change at the moment by the Trump administration when it comes to vaccines and health approaches, the effects have not yet been felt because the changes are a so profound and wide reaching that they will take a little time to settle. But you do highlight something which is mentioned in the Times, which is accused to say every single day there's been an action that endangers the health and wellness of American families. There is also not just the breadth of the changes, but also the number of changes that are being enacted which are incredibly hard to keep up with.
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Terry Stiazny
Yes, I mean, they were talking about the White House firing the agency's director. There's been all sorts of chaos going on there. But Robert Kennedy was really kind of coming on the counter attack. And you know, it's quite astonishing the things that he was saying. I mean, he was talking about the CDC having, in his words, lied about everything. People talking about COVID and how it got heated. He claimed that there were, you know, previously had said the vaccine was deadly. He said that, you know, there weren't reliable figures about how many people died of COVID and whether the vaccines had prevented COVID deaths. You know, any one of those things would normally sort of make, make news in its own right. And you know, the senators coming back at him saying, you know, when was, when were you lying, sir? When you told this committee you were not anti vax? When you told Americans there's no safe and effective vaccines? You know, you know, just the sort of, the sheer volume of things being said in a hearing like this is just astonishing.
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Emma Nelson
It is absolutely astonishing given the fact that what seems to be the general line of, line of narrative is that if you are an expert, your voice is not necessarily counted anymore and you.
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Terry Stiazny
Are quite likely to be fired.
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Emma Nelson
I mean, right, move on to a story that's dominating the British political scene. It is the tale of the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, who seems to have found herself in an absolute mess when it comes to the amount of tax that she paid when she bought a second house. This is important for a couple of reasons, isn't it? The fact remains is that she is a phenomenal success story insofar as that she grew up in abject poverty. Her mother cannot read. She was a mother herself when she was 16 and her managed to get herself to the position where she's not only deputy Prime Minister, but has not one, but two houses.
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Terry Stiazny
Yes. And you know, and deputy leader of the Labour Party which is interesting. And you know, this is a potentially, if you look at the front pages of all the British papers today, they are saying things like it's Judgment Day for Angela Rayner today because there's a report expected to come back into whether she has broken the ministerial code by not paying enough, enough tax on her second house. But whatever happens, you know, this is a big political problem for Keir Starmer because as you say, Angela Raina is a big character. She has got her own sort of background in the Labor Party. And one of the key things here is she's not just deputy prime minister by K Star's choice, she's deputy prime minister because she's deputy leader of the Labor Party and was voted into that position by Labor Party members. So, you know, if she has to go, it's not only, you know, a huge blow for Kia Starmer, it's also means that there's a contest for who will be the next deputy leader. And you've got Angela Rayner, as you say, this, this big character potentially sitting on the back benches. The rest of Keir Starmer's government.
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Emma Nelson
It's a story which has actually prompted quite a lot of debate in the Nelson household, actually, because it goes to principles. When politicians are accused of doing something wrong, there is generally an idea that there is some grubbiness behind it. But with this story, because her background is one of someone who has absolutely climbed up to the top from almost minus numbers, there is no one would ever want to begrudge her success. However, the fact is that as the housing minister and the deputy prime minister, that all important mood and that tone that you set, as in leadership is something which can never be bypassed.
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Terry Stiazny
And I think also in this particular circumstances to do with the care of her disabled son, as you say, all the problems that she has overcome. And one of them is also having a son with severe disabilities and then being divorced from his father. And that's why she's ended up in this complicated tax situation. So I think it's quite interesting that the leader of the Liberal Democrats actually said, well, look, she may have made a genuine mistake here with this complicated tax thing, but actually we need to think more in this country about how we help parents with disabled children because the system is, is really complicated. So I think, you know, some people will have a lot of sympathy for her if it turns out she made a, you know, a genuine mistake on, on those grounds as well.
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Emma Nelson
Finally, one of those things that the most important artists in this world and the most important Creative souls, when they leave, always seem to have an unfinished masterpiece sitting in a cupboard. This is, this is no exception when it comes to David Bowie. They found a musical locked in his study.
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Terry Stiazny
Yes, I think this is a fascinating one. There's going to be a big exhibition in London, the va of all of David Bowie's sort of artifacts and what he left. And we know that, you know, just before he died, he released his, his final album, which was very sort of, you know, full of sort of presentiments of death because he was already ill. But it turned out that locked in his study in 2016 was a sort of one of these walls of post it notes of an idea of a musical about 18th century London. And he'd done load into it. He was researching the history. I'm not sure he'd actually got as far as writing any of the songs for it, but he'd been reading original documents and things like that. And this was all left as it was found. And I think, yes, as you say, there always is an idea that, you know, there could have been one more great piece of work. Now we don't know if he'd ever got to finish it or ever write the songs or, you know, if he was doing a kind of 18th century London, Hamilton sort of idea, you know. But I think we love that idea that there was one more thing and it could have been fantastic. And that's what we missed.
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Emma Nelson
Terry Stiersney, thank you so much as ever for joining us. Joining us in the studio, that's Terry Siazne, political journalist and author. You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Now here's a look at what else we're keeping an eye on today, Parliament in Thailand is meeting to vote in a new prime minister. It follows the sacking of the previous incumbent, Pai Tong Tang Shinawat, over her handling of a dispute with Cambodia. Meanwhile, her father, the former prime minister and billionaire Thaksin Shinawat has fled the country. His departure comes days ahead of a court ruling next week that could see him jailed. The White House says President Trump will sign an executive order to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. The defense secretary said the change, which needs congressional approval, will shift the country up to a more warrior ethos. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has lowered tariffs on Japanese automobile imports. Import taxes of 15% will now be applied. The figure is down from 27.5%. And Swedish officials are reporting a huge increase in GPS satellite jamming. They claim they have evidence it originates from Russia, and that what was a weekly occurrence a few years ago is now happening many times a day. And those are the headlines on Monocle Radio. Now there are few designers who created a style which not only redefined dressing for a generation, but which also endured no matter what the rest of fashion was doing. Such was lasting achievement of Giorgio Armani, who's died, age 91, just a few weeks short of the 50th anniversary of the brand which bore his name. Armani's elegant deconstruction of the suit in the 1980s would also change and inform the way the stylish lived, ate and indeed decorated their homes well. At Monaco's Quality of Life conference in Barcelona, our editorial director and chairman, Tyler Brulee gave his reaction to the news.
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Tyler Brûlé
This has been a gentleman and of course, in contemporary terms, a brand that I've been following almost since the start of my editorial career, which goes back some time now. I think one of the remarkable things is we're in an era right now where we just see a revolving door of creative directors coming into companies and everything changes. The logo changes, the silhouette changes, there is a new approach to advertising, etc. I think one of the most remarkable things about Armani is that it's just the foundation was built around this man and it was unswerving at a time when there's been so much schizophrenia. You might buy into a brand, but then there's a change of creative director, and then it might not be something that you want to associate yourself with anymore, but here was a gentleman and of course with related family members, who has just delivered season after season, a consistency. I talk about silhouette, which is unique now, and I think that this is. We talk about a changing of the guard, but this is properly an end of an era. And it's not just because it's an end of an era of one, of of course, a designer who is really a cornerstone when we think about Brand Italy and Brand Italy from a design and fashion perspective, but also someone who really stuck to their guns. And a Porsche had a constituency of consumers, and those consumers, of course, the retailers buying his collections, but of course the end consumer as well, who loved the suit, who loved the approach address, who were also his couture customers as well.
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Emma Nelson
That was our editorial director and chairman, Tyler Brulee, There he was talking at the Monocle Quality of Life conference in Barcelona. We'll be heading there in a moment to hear from Ed Stocker. But first let's enjoy a wider look at Giorgio Armani's Life and legacy For a man credited with inventing one of the defining styles of Italian fashion, Giorgio Armani was slow to make his mark, only entering the industry at the age of 40, just when many other designers are contemplating retrospectives. But with age comes self confidence. And as the godfather of quiet luxury, Giorgio Armani brought the world world a grown up sense of style. Discretion was a word which permeates Armani's story. From what we know of his life and style to his rather mean nickname, Signor Beige. Giorgio Armani was born on July 11, 1934 in Piacenza, Italy. When asked in 2015 what he remembered of his early life, he simply said, very little, followed by a pause, but there is is enough to piece together a picture of a boy for whom putting on a show was important. Memories of theatre trips with his grandfather, a stage wig maker, and of making puppet shows with his brother. Cinema was also a refuge during wartime Italy, with the idealised beauty of Hollywood stars a draw. The war had a very real effect on the young Armani. In 2024, he told the New York Times that for those of us who grew up in the shadow of war, ambition was something natural, a vital drive. It was not so much a desire for fame and notoriety, but rather a way to assert oneself outside the hardship. The human form was a passion from an early age. He told the Guardian newspaper about his interests in anatomy. Making dolls out of mud with the coffee bean hidden inside. This fascination for the body was initially mistaken for a desire to become a doctor. He spent two years at medical school, but left because it bored him. Then military service and during a break to Milan, he enjoyed his first taste of fashion and through a friend, he got a job at the fabled Rinascente department store. He then joined the staff of Nino Chirruti as a designer. Here he met Sergio Gagliotti, a partner who was to be instrumental in both his life and the creation of the Armani brand. Two years later, in 1975, the Armani label was born with just the two men operating the brand. Armani designed the clothes. Galeotti directed the business. It was when Armani ripped out the lining of a man's suit that he began to design in the way that would define his brand. His clothes liberated men from boxy shoulders and women from ostentation. The body could be sensually yet discreetly dressed. It was a revolution in understatement.
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Terry Stiazny
And.
- [33:25]
Emma Nelson
The moment in 1980 when Richard Gere started to pull a selection of taupe, greige and brown unstructured jackets. From his wardrobe in the film American Gigolo, Armani arrived in popular culture. Commissions for the like of the Untouchables and the Dark Dark Night would then follow. His designs were instantly recognizable and offered a set of coats to which Armani would stick. Style would win over fashion every time. He would be faithful to his city, Milan for life. And a consistency of character was being noticed too. In a profile in 1979, he was portrayed as follows. He's known as an extremely hard worker and a rather shy man. Man who neither drinks, smokes nor dances till dawn. In Milan, Armani is not known to be wildly social. Italians see you as distant and aloof. Is once asked an emperor alone in his castle. Why you should ask them rather than me, replied Armani. I'm a very private person. And perhaps this can be mistaken for aloofness. Where some saw difficult, others noted an admirable consistency. The uniform of navy T shirt or swepta and navy trim trousers. A svelte form unfailingly maintained thanks to discipline, seen as an antidote to the passage of time before shows. Everybody would be ready an hour ahead of schedule. And this rigidity underpinned the breathtaking expansion of his empire. Armani pioneered the now ubiquitous pushing of a fashion brand into other areas. First accessories, perfumes and cosmetics. There were different fashion lines and a move into interiors. And as the world moved on and Armani lost its cool, this diversification kept Signor Beige successful. Today you can eat breakfast with Armani jam on your toast. A lucky few can shake a tail feather on the dance floor of an Armani Prive nightclub in Milan or Dubai before being tucked up in an Armani hotel room or apartment. And in all the publicity pictures, a concrete brown, snow haired Giorgio grins at you from within his empire of beige and muted dark surfaces. Armani never compromised with his business either. After the early death of Sergio Gagliotti, Giorgio took control and remained one of the few designers to remain the sole shareholder of his company. One estimate valued the armani Group at 10 billion euros. Armani saw every single collection produced in half a century. In 2024, there was talk that a succession plan had to be put in place. But replacing Giorgio Armani would, it was said, be impossible. This was even the case during the spring 26 menswear collection for Milan Fashion Week. For the first time in the brand's history, Armani, a few days shy of his 91st birthday, did not attend due to illness. But his head of menswear, Leo de del Orco, took his place wearing Armani's navy T shirt and trousers. As his boss said, elegance is not about being noticed, it's about being remembered. Well, let's head now to Barcelona to hear from Monocles Europe editor at large Ed Stocker. Ed, a very good morning to you.
- [36:44]
Ed Stocker
Very good morning. I haven't had Armani jam this morning on my toast.
- [36:48]
Emma Nelson
I have to say, there is always hope for all of us. Ed, we'll talk about the reason why you're in Barcelona in a minute because it's a quality of life conference just kicking off, I'd imagine in the next few minutes. We won't keep you long on that one, but let's just talk about the fact that you are a resident of Milan and that was Armani's city. He was faithful to his city of Milan through and through. He was a giant of the place.
- [37:13]
Ed Stocker
He was indeed. I mean, massive. And you know, in that little summary you did just that, you summed up some of the amazing things he did. He really was an incredible businessman. You know, revenue of 2.3 billion euros last year, 8,700 employees, 6, over 600 and around 680 stores, I believe. Just. He built up an incredible business empire. And he was born south of, just south of Melbourne, Milan. But Milan was the, the city he, he moved to the city that Armani was associated with. He was sort of discovered, you know, he studied medicine, so nothing to do with fashion, but apparently already had always had a love for it. And he worked in, you know, the, the most famous department store in Milan, La di Nascente, just near the Duomo. And that's where he was sort of designed, discovered. And from there his career took off. But just an incredible figure that of course, people have been paying tribute to, from the mayor of Milan, Bepezada, to even Giorgio Meloni, the prime minister, who said on social media, she said, with his elegant sopriety and creativity, he knew how to make Italian fashion shine and inspire, inspire the entire world. And he really did know how to make Italian fashion shine. In La Republica, one journalist wrote, you know, Giorgio Armani has died. Fashion has died.
- [38:49]
Emma Nelson
It is almost that sort of defining moment that one of the great designers, the fact that in arguably his favorite designer was Coco Chanel, because she had a code. She had a strict code. And from that point, the house was. Would always be defined by a look exactly in the same way that happened afterwards with Armani. The big question therefore remains, what happens now? Because I mentioned a moment at Leo del Orco, but he was dressed in the same Style as Giorgio Armani. Does this mean that as there is no great immediate successor to Giorgio Armani, that there must be some sort of continuity of. Of code?
- [39:31]
Ed Stocker
Probably there'll be a continuity of coat because the brand is so. Says it's so associated with him. Yeah. I mean, he became known for many things, but obviously famous for the sort of deconstructed jacket and how he was so associated with stars. He knew how to align Armani with Hollywood, but with politicians, with. With everyone, it was, it went so far. It became a code, a way to dress in terms of succession. Yeah. I mean, again, you talked about it a bit earlier. He was, you know, in complete control of every facet of this multifaceted brand that he built. And so that will be a hard act to follow. There has been talk in media and Italian media that talks about. Talking about. Apparently there is a document from 2016 that talks about some sort of succession plan. I mean, he always said, look, while I'm alive, I'm the boss. You know, he was very much always in control, even at the very end. And so obviously that leaves quite a gap. But there is talk of his nephew who will take charge, Andrea Camarana and other family members who will probably be involved in the running of the company. But obviously there's that creative side. I mean, that may be the sort of day to day running of the empire, but of course there'll be the creative void that has been left by him.
- [41:04]
Emma Nelson
Right, let's move on to the Monocle quality of life. Just. I can hear it buzzing in the background. Ed, it is a wonderful, wonderful day when Monocle really shines. And tell us a little bit about, you know, the Petit Palau, which is in the Pala della Musica in the middle of Barcelona. A beautiful venue, an amazing lineup of guests and quite astonishing subjects as well. Everything from how to be a local to sorting out new geopolitical frontiers and also sorting out your skin care as well.
- [41:34]
Ed Stocker
Yeah, we've got it all covered. We've got it all covered here at Monaco as usual. Yeah, you're right. We're in this incredible building. Don't quiz me too much about the history because I haven't brushed up on that, but it is stunning. And yeah, I have to say, it's one of the best conference venues I think we've had. Yeah, we're in this beautiful room with sort of wood paneling and stone on the sides. The stage looks great. We've got sort of lights on there, big screen, these yellow Quality of Life banners are hanging and yeah, it's just about, about to start pretty, pretty soon we've got, the delegates have been arriving, they're having their coffees and croissants and slowly, slowly moving into place. And yeah, we are, as you say, we're covering everything from sort of aging, how to sort of age. Well, we're looking at, looking after our skin and yeah, we're also getting into really meaty subjects like the geopolitical situation and as always is Emma trying to find, and it can be hard sometimes in these times looking to find some positive lessons that we can extract from the current situation there as well. So it's going to be as always, a really packed day with lots of Monocle editors on stage and we've got guests from, from all around the world, from, from right here in Spain to the UAE to Turkey and beyond. So it's going to be a really interesting mix of people. And as always, beyond, you know, just the fact that there's lots of incredible talks to listen to. It's so great to see our listeners. You know, I was at our drinks that we had yesterday evening. I was speaking to someone who'd come in from Kuala Lumpur. I spoke to a couple who'd flown in from Dubai. Literally they just got in and they're leaving on Sunday night, which is pretty incredible. So it's just amazing to meet all our readers and get that sort of first hand feedback from them and just have a good chat with them.
- [43:34]
Emma Nelson
It's the familiar faces, but it's also the new ones as well, which is what we're always looking forward to meeting at the Quality of Life conference. Are there any newcomers?
- [43:42]
Ed Stocker
Of course, there always are. There always are. Yeah. I spoke to her first time actually, who'd come from less far from London, who'd be a longtime reader of the magazine and he works in property development, wanted to come and check it out and was just loving being there. We were at the Miro foundation yesterday for the the sort of welcome cocktail with this incredible view of the city in sort of golden hour. So you couldn't really ask for much more if it is your first time at a Quality of Life Life conference, to have that as your initiation.
- [44:18]
Emma Nelson
Monocle's Ed Stocker, thank you so much for joining us from the Quality of Life Conference at the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona. We'll be having lots of live events coming to us from Barcelona later on today. I believe the briefing is coming from exactly where Ed was standing. Tom Edwards is your host for that. There'll be regular check ins and reports on the fun and games there. You're listening to Monocle Radio.
- [44:45]
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- [45:21]
Emma Nelson
I'm joined out from Ljubljana to find the latest news from where he is. Guy Delaunay is Monocle's Balkans correspondent and he's live with an update for us now. Very good morning to you, Guy. How are things? Things.
- [45:32]
Guy Delaunay
Good morning, Emma. A little bit misty in Ljubljana at the moment. We're getting seriously into autumn. I think it's generally the time of year when Ljubljan Ciani start complaining that their city is a bowl and it's all a bit too gloomy.
- [45:44]
Emma Nelson
Excellent. Well, we'll start from there and try and work up. But you have a catalogue of pretty grim stories for us today. There's a lot of unrest where you are.
- [45:53]
Guy Delaunay
Yeah, there is. I mean, not in, not in Slovenia, but we're looking at Serbia. There's quite a lot of unrest in Serbia and that's been the theme of the past 10 months, really, since the disaster Novi Railway Station last November. So what we've got this weekend is the culmination of Belgrade Pride Week. And of course, in Serbia it's not easy to be gay or lesbian or transgender or bisexual. You know, it is what we euphemistically term a socially conservative society. And for many years Pride Parade couldn't be held because every time it was just ending in massive amounts of violence staged by right wing thugs. Now it has been held for a number of years. Now, the Belgrade Pride Parade this year, though, it's going to be less a sort of celebration of the fact that you can actually march through the capital city and be out and proud, and more a protest in sympathy and in solidarity with the ongoing anti corruption protests that have been going on since that railway station disaster last year. So the organizers this year, they're saying we're not going to make music, we're going to make noise.
- [46:59]
Emma Nelson
Could you ever have imagined this sort of, this coming together of an anti governmental voice being so strong in Belgrade?
- [47:07]
Guy Delaunay
It's an interesting one because we've had huge numbers at these protests. We've had the biggest one, got at least 325,000 people. That was where the independent counters more or less gave up. They said, we think there's about 325,000 people, but there could quite possibly be more. And we've seen six figure protests in Belgrade on a few occasions over the past 10 months. I think it's going to be a very big occasion with pride as well tomorrow because other people are going to join that, of course. But the interesting question is, what does this all mean? Because there was an opinion poll that came out this month which was done by Ipsos, and that suggested that the governing Progressive Party still has very large support in Serbia. Their figure was 48%. And of course this has been challenged left and right. But the government is rubbing their hands at seeing this, saying, look, for all, all the protests that are out on the streets, there's still a, suppose a silent majority, if you like, who support the government. And it's very hard to tell actually how much support the government has or doesn't have because for all the protests, again, this is a point I've made every time we speak. Really, Emma. There isn't a proper opposition movement for people to believe in and vote in at the ballot box. And that's the question that still has to be asked, really, if there were a unifying and credible opposition movement, would people vote for that rather than the governing Progressive Party?
- [48:33]
Emma Nelson
What also seems to be the case here with this story is that it is not just a protest movement which is confined within the borders of Serbia. There are now international protests or international voices joining in.
- [48:47]
Guy Delaunay
That's correct. And you're going to see some of them in London tomorrow because there's going to be a protest. And this isn't a specific anti government protest, but they're protesting outside an investment company called BC Pump. And they're doing that because BC Partners is the majority owner of United Group. United Group is a multinational telecoms and media company which runs several media outlets in Serbia. Most notable among them N1, which is a broadcaster and web portal which has been very critical of the government over a period of years. It's often spoken of as being the sole anti government broadcaster in Serbia. Now there's been a recording leaked over the past week or so, which as the CEO of United Group, in conversation with the CEO of Telecom Serbia, which is state owned, obviously very connected to Serbia's government, indicating in this conversation that he's coming under pressure from the government from President Vucic himself to change the leadership at United's media operations. Because Mr. Vucic not happy with all the criticism and this conversation furthermore indicated that the CEO of United might be sympathetic, sympathetic to those requests. And of course, this has left people in Serbia, particularly among those who are protesting, highly concerned. If N1 is one of the few voices, which is, if not telling it exactly how it is, then at least not following the government line, what would happen if the leadership changed at that media group and would that leave Serbia without any independent media in effect? So they're taking it to the ownership, which is BC Partners. That's going to be happening in London tomorrow.
- [50:30]
Emma Nelson
So how much is that actually gaining traction in Serbia?
- [50:33]
Guy Delaunay
Well, it's gained quite a lot of traction in Serbia. And again, there's been a big issue in certainly what there is of independent and anti government media in Serbia. You're hearing a lot of it. Of course, there's been a lot of denials and equivocations flying left and right. The government denying that they're putting pressure on United to change any of their ownership or any of their editorial staff. But the facts of the matter matter is, over the years, Mr. Vucic and the government have said all sorts of unflattering things about N1 and two N1 reporters. All of these stories about them putting pressure on United behind the scenes are highly credible. And there was a deal between United and Telecom Serbia to sell off some of United's operations, some of their cable and broadband operations to Telecom Serbia. So that deal is in place. They are talking anyway, and this is what United are saying when we're having these conversations, because we did some business deals. But it is gaining a lot of traction among the people who do rely on getting their news from N1, the other outlets that the United operates. If you're just sucking up your news from the propaganda sheets which are connected to the Progressive Party, perhaps it's not getting so much traction there.
- [51:54]
Emma Nelson
Guy Delaunay, Monocle's Balkans correspondent, thank you as ever, for joining us down the line, listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Finally, it's Friday, so it must be time for what we learned. Here's Andrew Muller.
- [52:17]
Andrew Muller
We learned this week startling amounts about the interior decoration, color scheme, preferences of UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
- [52:26]
Emma Nelson
We actually have Union Jack bunting on our garden shed at the moment. I've got St. George's flags, I've got St. George's bunting. I've got the Yorkshire Rose bunting as well. I've got Union Jacks flags and tablecloths. We've got the lot.
- [52:41]
Andrew Muller
We learned that this extremely normal and entirely plausible outburst was apparently going to be emblematic of the UK Government's response to a Widespread outbreak of social media encouraged flag hoisting in one of the UK's four constituent nations.
- [52:59]
Guy Delaunay
In some parts of England, everywhere you.
- [53:01]
Ed Stocker
Look, there are St. George's and Union Jack flags.
- [53:04]
Andrew Muller
We learned further that the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, was equally determined to pretend that he enjoyed nothing more of an evening than sitting down with his family to watch the flag, perhaps with dinner on their laps. I always sit in front of a Union Jack. I've been doing it for years and it attracted a lot of comment when I started doing it. And in our flat, which is upstairs from here, as you know, we've got the St. George's flag in our flat. We learned, however, upon researching and contemplating the matter further, that there was far more going on here than can really be adequately conveyed in what is essentially a whimsical news review.
- [53:44]
Emma Nelson
Is there by any chance a recent Foreign Desk explainer which might unpick the subtext of this brouhaha?
- [53:51]
Andrew Muller
Glad you asked. Why, yes. Yes there is. It's explainer number 482, which went live earlier this week and which you can find on Monocle's website or wherever superior podcasts are downloaded. Just get on with it anyway. In the United States. Oh no, Pace yourselves. In the United States, we learned something of the terrifying threat posed by radioactive shrimp. We learned this from second best ever US Senator John Kennedy, that is the no relation incumbent elected by the people of Louisiana in 2016 and for some reason re elected in 2022. Although in fairness, only the second weirdest person called Kennedy at large in the present administration. He has not, to the best of our knowledge, ever sawn the head off a whale and strapped it to a roof rack. And we learned that Senator Kennedy had brought props if arguably not his marbles. This is a photograph of the alien from the movie Alien. Do please go on.
- [55:03]
Emma Nelson
This is what you could end up.
- [55:05]
Andrew Muller
Looking like if you eat some of the raw frozen shrimp being sent to the United States by other countries. Right O Now let me tell you what I'm talking about, please.
- [55:20]
Emma Nelson
If you eat it, why could you.
- [55:21]
Andrew Muller
In how could you end up looking like the alien in the ashes? Alien was our next question. Because the shrimp was radioactive, I kid you not. We learned, however, and this may be a lesson specific to people composing wry, sidelong looks at the week's events, how annoying it is that the Senator wasn't as alarmed about the possibility of radioactive cod or perhaps haddock as a punchline about fish and chips was right there and we couldn't come up with anything Nearly as such satisfying pertaining to shrimp, but sticking with the subject of odd looking toxic orange creatures which have emerged from murky depths to command the political center stage, we learned more of the determination of US President Donald Trump to unleash the mighty military he commands upon enemies foreign and domestic, not merely upon Venezuelan boats which may or may not have been crammed to the gunwales with cocaine, but with never know.
- [56:19]
Emma Nelson
Now, President Trump confirmed that the US launched a strike in the southern Caribbean.
- [56:24]
Jenny Mathers
Against a Venezuelan vessel that was allegedly.
- [56:26]
Andrew Muller
Carrying drugs, but also women holding a press conference attempting to remind everyone of those files. The President definitely isn't mentioned extensively and repeatedly in when it had already happened.
- [56:41]
Emma Nelson
This woman abused children.
- [56:45]
Andrew Muller
We did learn when we looked into it, because we did like that, that the U.S. air Force might not have been scrambled specifically to interrupt the victims of the President's good friend Jeffrey Epstein. It was apparently a tribute to a Polish F16 pilot killed in a recent accident staged in honour of Polish President Karol Nocki, who was visiting the White House at the time. Which is in fairness, quite a decent gesture. And the whole thing. Thing is what what we can but hope will serve as a sobering reminder that not everything is what you might want it to look like. Can I get some? General muttered agreement. And knitting seamlessly together this week's themes of arguably misplaced national pride, marauding marine creatures, things that fly and annoying squawking, we learn something of the extraordinary celebrity endowed in this the 21st century by an ability to mimic a seagull that was an actual seagull. By way of establishing a benchmark, we learned that the English seaside settlement of Western Super Mare had drawn inspiration from the heroic endeavours in seagull Mimicry of 11 year old Cooper Wallace, current reigning European goal screeching champion. Having lifted the title in the Belgian town of Le Panne, which translates from the Belgian as the pan, probably in 2024 with this effort, and defended it earlier this year with this. If that doesn't make anyone sufficiently proud to spray paint a St. George's cross on their nearest roundabout, what will? Etc. Once again you see how cleverly these monologues are stitched together. Anyway, we learned that the arguably under occupied burgers of Western Super Mare had instituted their own goal screeching tournament and invited Cooper Wallace to choose the winner as they clearly believe that one good turn deserves another.
- [59:08]
Emma Nelson
Wow.
- [59:09]
Andrew Muller
From Monocle Radio, I'm Andrew Moore.
- [59:15]
Emma Nelson
And that's all the time we have for today's programme. The warmest of thanks to all my guests and to the producers, Monica Lillis and Chris Chermack. Our researcher is Henry King and our students studio manager was Flynn Simons with editing assistance from Lily Austin. After the headlines, more music's on the way. The briefing's live at 1300 Barcelona time from the Monocle Quality of Life conference. And the Globalist is back at the same time on Monday. Hope you can join me for that if you can. But for now, from me, Emma Nelson, goodbye. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.