The Armani Six: The Unexpected Journey to collect them all

I am often contacted by readers who either want advise on tracking down more screen accurate costumes, or want to show off their latest purchases that are worth sharing with my wider readership.

Over the past couple of months I have been chatting to a client of mine who has been an avid (no obsessive!) seeker of a screen accurate Giorgio Armani tie. 

His quest had recently come to fruition - something to give all with a similar goal good reason to keep pursuing their dream.

It cam out in conversation that he now had amassed SIX different versions of the tie, so I invited him to put his collection in writing and below is a breakdown of his impressive collection.

by John Tennant Smith

A few months ago, I became a very happy collector and cosplayer: My dream of owning an original brown Armani tie, came true. My journey didn’t start there, though. Along the journey that would take years to complete, several versions of this beautiful tie would come my way...

First came the reproductions, then the originals trickled in, until I struck gold. Originals are always fun, so I'll start there and work my way back:

Giorgio Armani original ties

First in the group of originals is the black colourway variant of the Armani tie. To admit, when I first laid eyes on the auction and purchased it late last year, I thought I had found the brown version.



When the package arrived, I was disappointed to see it was the black variant.
The mistake is due to the colour the tie can take on when photographed. The seller had only taken a few close pictures. In some shots it takes on an almost brown quality! Still beautiful, and would look sharp with many dress styles.


My next original would come in the form of the blue variant, which also hit eBay late last year. After some debate on whether to bid or not, I figured what the heck. I won, and I opened it on Christmas.



Let me just say, this tie is BLUE! It’s almost obnoxious. That's part of the fun of it, though. I haven’t seen what could be worn with it yet, although I suspect it might look okay with Tennant's blue suit. Still have to see...


My third original, which I have searched day and night for, over the last two years - my personal Holy Grail of Doctor Who: The brown Armani tie! After watching a new episode of The Walking Dead, it was time to do my usual eBay searches. This time, I would hit gold.



After a week of nail biting, and going back-and-forth with the seller to find out what she planned to do with the tie (yes, many were offering sums of money), the Sunday night finally came. With seconds to spare, I placed my bid and felt my heart jump for joy when I saw the note saying I was the winner.. My wallet hated me. Apparently I wasn't the only one willing to give my all.

Editor’s note
This auction was featured on my blog in March 2016. A reader had alerted me to it after he had missed out (one of those willing to give their all). I was later contacted by John Tennant Smith who said he was the buyer of the tie! The result of our discussions is the article you are reading.

Giorgio Armani dark brown tie

Even after the auction ended, I was still nervous until I finally got the notification of my tie shipping. From the time the auction had ended, until it was shipped, the seller was still getting offers on the tie had I chosen to back out. Not a chance, though! When it arrived, it was the feeling of Christmas all over again. This egg tie is so beautiful, that I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. While the repros are nice, they certainly aren't able to catch the spirit of the real deal. Seeing that Steve had posted about the auction, and being a buyer of his for one of his beautiful coats, I had to throw everything together for a quick picture and message him about who the winner was. Excuse the Kilgrave scruff ;)

Magnoli Clothiers replicas

Onto the reproductions: over the years, Indy from Magnoli Clothiers has produced this tie in three different versions (with a fourth red version on the way).

My first version of the Armani is the first one he produced. I bought this tie a couple years ago when he had made the switch to his current Armani.



I was new at cosplay and collecting, saw this on eBay for about half the price of his new version, and figured it was good enough. As I wore it with both my Baron brown suit and Magnoli brown suit, I became unhappy with how bright the tie was compared to the original..

Cue the second Magnoli tie produced: his alternative colourway. At the mistake of his factory, the colours messed up, taking on the look of the Armani when shot at an angle, appearing dusty blue.



I figured it’d look cool to wear, so I picked it up. It’s a nice tie for the Doomsday look.


Things come in threes: Magnoli Clothier’s third, current iteration of the Armani tie. I love the Armani, and having become unhappy wearing my two reproductions that I own...  I bit the bullet, and bought his new version some months after he released it.



Upon opening it, I loved it! It really is a great alternative to the original.

While buying the repro ties, I never gave up looking for an original, knowing that was my end goal. It took a great while, but I did it. Thoughts of what to do with the others have crossed my mind. Maybe one day the collection will split, but for now I like the family of Armani's, as it tells my story.

How do the reproductions stack to the original? In my opinion, each iteration has its qualities to the original, that the other ones lack.

The first tie Magnoli produced had captured the embroidery of the blue boxes almost perfectly, that his future iterations went away from. Magnoli's second tie (blue colourway) used a more accurate silk base that his 1st and 3rd lack. Magnoli's current iteration lined up the egg pattern perfectly. If all three of those qualities mixed, and a base colour tweak, I bet the results would be stunning.

To close out, I'm proud of this accomplishment. The Armani is over 10 years old! Many may have been produced, but with how many have likely ended up in attics to rot, dumps, shipped to far away lands, or are just sitting in some hole in the wall thrift shoppe... very few have ever surfaced on eBay; who knows when the next one will pop up. However, if you want something, and can stay determined and wait it out, then there is always the chance to accomplish your personal goal.

UPDATE

Recognition has come for John’s quest, in the form of a comment posted by none other than Louise Page herself.

Who would have thought a tie I bought would have made people search high & low even 10 years later to search one out!

Giorgio Amazing

A reader sent me a link to a recently closed eBay auction.

Sadly they missed out on it - but it was clearly hotly fought over!

Giorgio Armani dark brown tie

The opening price was a mere US$15.99, but it finally sold for US$515 (GB£360), when the winner bidder sniped it with seconds to spare.

The tie is from an eBay seller who's got dozens of random ties for sale, and there is no mention on the listing of its Doctor Who connection, so I can only guess that the three competing bidders were all eagle-eyed fans who locked in mortal combat to get it!

It’s a bit of a heads-up that when you spot something like this online, keep it to yourself if you are serious to buy it, otherwise you might find the price hiked on you by predatory collectors!

Giorgio Armani - secured!

I’ve just secured myself a screen accurate Giorgio Armani tie!
But to get it I used some tactics that aren’t my usual style.

Genuine Giorgio Armani Tie

This gorgeous White Label Giorgio Armani tie is 100% silk and made in Italy. The background is a subtle two-tone weave of chocolate brown and sky blue, featuring chocolate brown ovals with sky blue squares offset inside them. The two-tone weave allows the background to catch the light differently based on which way it is turned, making it appear either dusty blue or dark brown. It is lined with a chartreuse woven lining with the words GIORGIO ARMANI patterned throughout.

After Doctor Who costume designer Louise Page purchased several of these ties, it became one of the most popular and iconic of David Tennant's ties during his run as the Tenth Doctor. It was first seen in the episode Love and Monsters and was later featured in Army of Ghosts, Doomsday, Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Fires of Pompeii, The Family of Blood, Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, Journey’s End, and Planet of the Dead.

This tie is in MINT CONDITION! It has no flaws, snags, rips, burns, stains, or fraying. It is 57" long and is 3⅝" wide at the widest point. It has had extremely good care taken of it in non-smoking home.

This tie is EXTREMELY RARE and highly sought after by cosplayers and collectors. It may be a very long time before another one appears. If you were looking for a special detail to bring that unique authenticity to your Tenth Doctor cosplay, this is it!




SECURING THE TIE
The tie has been listed by a friend of mine who amazingly has tracked down two such ties in as many months.

He then planned to sell the spare to get some pocket money for Gallifrey One next month.

I know the seller is a collector of the Tennant ties, so I offered him a unique swap for one of my screen accurate replica Eleventh Hour Christian Lacroix ties.

He wasn’t too sure, but when I told him the full story behind how I made the tie he was convinced and we had a deal!

He closed the eBay listing and when I get to Gallifrey One we’ll do the exchange.
Suffice to say he’s very excited to get his hands on one of my ties - and I’ve added another tie to my collection.

St George’s day

Today is April 23rd - St George’s day - the patron saint of England! So how appropriate to talk about Tie Ten, the St George by Duffer tie.

I keep an eye on eBay for any screen accurate Tennant ties almost as a matter of habit. It’s a lonely quest and often fruitless.

There are two divisions of ties: the cheap and plentiful (such as the Thomas Nash, Daniel Hechter and St George by Duffer) which retailed for £15 to £20; and the more expensive and exclusive (such as Christian Lacroix, Giorgio Armani and Nina Ricci) which retailed for £60 plus.

The problem is the cheaper ties, although many more were made, they are seen as cheap and cheerful so not worth anything. They tend to end up in the bin or given to a charity shop.

The more expensive ties tend to be retained due to their price, but if they are unwanted have a chance of appearing on eBay.

This week saw two Tenth Doctor ties, one from each group (though one was a colourway variation) up for sale on eBay.

ST GEORGE BY DUFFER TIE

So far I’ve reported on a good half dozen of this ties over the past couple of years. When they do come up they often have a low start price, but once a couple of Tennant fans spot them they soon rocket in value. This one selling for over £70

GIORGIO ARMANI TIE

I’ve seen this Giorgio Armani tie once before, and have this colourway myself.

It is totally identical in weave to the brown and blue version worn by the Tenth Doctor, but this one is in shades of grey. it is just like a black and white photograph!

The Australian seller of this tie was out for a quick sale, and it sold for a meagre AU$20!

A bargain if ever I saw one - real pity it wasn’t in the right colour :(

Replica Giorgio Armani Tie - Magnoli Second Incarnation

This month sees the release by Magnoli Clothiers of a second version of their Giorgio tie - a replica of Tie Seven (the Giorgio Armani).

Here is my review

This month has seen the release of a third, and much improved Swirly tie from online costume makers Magnoli Clothiers. It’s a very popular tie with fans, so great to see a decent replica widely available.

Previously they have gone through as many drafts of their replica of Tie Two (Daniel Hechter).

This demonstrates a level of dedication to review and revise their ties, each being a step up from the previous.

I wish I could say the same for the latest version of Tie Seven (Giorgio Armani) which has taken a bizarre route from the first draft.

Previously a replica had been made, copied directly from an original Giorgio Armani tie, though the source was a different colourway option in blue.

The weave was pretty much bang on, but for some unknown reason the two shades of brown were transposed, making the dominant colour a lighter, warmer brown.

So when I heard on the grapevine a new version of the tie was already in the pipeline, I was excited to see what had been done to improve on it, as only switching the browns would be enough to make it very near perfect.

I ordered my tie, and when it arrived I was what I can only describe as perplexed. The weave is the same as before but the colours have been changed to a dusty blue - just like the colourway option the first tie had been copied from to get the weave correct.

Why on earth this tie has been made I do not know. Maybe someone can enlighten me. But it is a backward step and further from the screen-worn tie than ever.

It’s a same the first draft tie is now out of stock as I would recommend sticking with that.
Sorry to be so negative, but even at US$45 it is not worth the effort to buy it.

I’ll wait to see what draft three brings...

Louise Page - The Tie Seven story

We are now just over halfway through the Tenth Doctor’s tie wardrobe, and we come to Tie Seven, the Giorgio Armani tie.

It first appeared briefly in Love And Monsters, but had been featured extensively in Army Of Ghosts (see right) and Doomsday, which were shot first.

It also was seen in Smith And Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Fires of Pompeii (see left), The Family Of Blood, Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, Journey’s End and Planet Of The Dead.

Louise tells us about one of her favourite ties, and listen out for the nickname given it by her staff.

Thanks to Kevin Coppa for giving the interview clips the polished look, and enormous thanks to Louise Page for sharing her memories of dressing the Tenth Doctor with us all

Magnoli replica Giorgio Armani tie - the comparison

You will have seen recently that I bought one of the Magnoli replica Giorgio Armani ties.

I think it is great, don’t get me wrong, but I had the chance to compare it one-on-one with a genuine Armani tie, and the results are, to say the least, interesting.

My good friend Kevin, whom I tailored The Ultimate Tennant Suit for, is the lucky owner of a the correct brown version of the Armani tie, that the latest Magnoli is a replica of.

If you looked closely you will have seen him wearing it at a photoshoot at the San Diego Comic Con (see below).

I caught up wit him recently at Chicago TARDIS, and we both happened to have our Armani ties (my replica and his original) so it was the ideal chance to compare them like-for-like.

The real Armani is on the bottom of the picture above, and you can see that the background is several shades darker than the replica.

Magnoli replica Giorgio Armani tie - review

Over the past few years Magnoli Clothiers in New Zealand have been releasing a series of replica Tennant Ties; from the original Daniel Hechter (see far left); to the iconic Christian Lacriox (see left, middle); as well as the St George by Duffer (see near left).

All good ties, but the one which was worn the most, the Giorgio Armani, as been a long time coming.

Today the postman brought me a narrow, thin, long package . . .  my Magnoli replica Girogio Armani tie!

Carefully opening the packaging, I found it wrapped in cellophane. The tie inside looked great!

The Girogio Armani tie is Tie Seven in my Tie Index, and although I don’t own an original, I have seen one close-up, and from what I recall this is a pretty good replica.

I cannot vouch for the weave and scale of the design, but it has been worked directly from an original - abet blue version - so the shapes and proportions should be spot on.

Repica Giorgio Armani tie

I was looking around the net this evening, and came across a new item on the Magnoli website - a replica Giorgio Armani tie!

This is Tie Seven from my Tie Index, and from the single detail image looks to be quite a good reproduction of the design.

How well it looks close-up remains to be seen, but it is due for shipping in late November, so we shall see.