Independent goes Red with Armani as guest designer

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 13-Sep-06, 11:00

LONDON - The Independent is extending its involvement with the Product Red initiative by inviting Giorgio Armani to guest design the September 21 edition of the newspaper.

Italian fashion designer Armani follows in the footsteps of Bono, who guest edited an issue of The Independent in May.

Bono is one of the driving forces behind Product Red, where companies including Gap, American Express, Motorola and Nike donate revenues from special products to a fund that helps fight poverty and Aids in Africa. Emporio Armani, one of Armani's fashion brands, is also involved with the initiative.

As well as being designed by Armani, the September 21 issue will have articles by public figures including George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Destiny's Child frontwoman Beyonce Knowles.

The Independent's second section, Extra, will become a magazine for the day and feature a commemorative poster personally designed by Giorgio Armani.

The May 16 edition of The Independent sold an extra 70,000 copies, with the Independent donating half of all revenues from the issue to the Global Fund. It will also donate revenues from the Armani edition.

Simon Kelner, editor-in-chief of The Independent, said: "Giorgio Armani will bring his own, highly distinctive view of the world, and his unique creative vision to the pages of the newspaper, and there promises to be some spectacular visual treats."

In the most recent national newspaper ABC figures for July 2006, The Independent's circulation rose by almost 4% on the previous month to sell an average 250,761 copies a day.

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