Armani's 10 favourite things

Designer Giorgio Armani lists his favourite things.

1. My homes. The first and most important element when decorating one's home is choosing elements that work together to create an ambience. Consideration needs to be given equally to light, space, materials, and textiles. Without a doubt, my favourite room in the house is the living room. It's where I relax, entertain, watch television and read. It is the centre of any home, and it is rightfully described as a room for living. The sofa is the object of a house I can't live without.

I believe that the bathroom is one of a home's most important environments, and that it should be in balance and harmony with other rooms of the house. Also the bathroom environment needs to speak the language of beauty, proposing noble materials, precious textile collections, a wide range of elegant decoration accessories. In my bathroom, I pay particular attention to this harmony between aesthetics and comfort.

2. My boat. I certainly do consider my boat Mariu a home away from home. I don't really like staying in hotels - they're often too public and I rarely like the decor. So the idea for Mariu was that she could be a real home, a place where I could spend time happily, within an environment that I found comfortable.

3. Sun, sea, light, simple food and great company. My favourite holiday destination is somewhere warm with a beautiful crystal blue sea, such as the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean.

4. Two of my favourite items from Armani Casa are the Ginza table and the red and green Egitto lamps.

5. I think almost everyone would agree that the trench coat is a must-have item in everyone's wardrobe. It is functional but has that element of sensual mystery that brings out a sense of feminine understated seduction in any woman.

6. One of the most important buildings in Milan is the Pirellone, which unfortunately was badly damaged recently in an airplane crash. It represents the beginning of Milan's great commercial and industrial expansion.7 The essential item in any Armani collection - men's or women's wear- is the jacket. I have always built collections around jackets, as they seem to me to provide the backbone of any wardrobe.

8. Neutrals offer a chic simplicity that is modern, contemporary and timeless in style. They do not go out of fashion like some of the bright one-season colours.

9. In the evening, after a long day, I like to have dinner in good company and watch a movie. Time is the one commodity that I never seem to have enough of. I love the cinema. Movies have always been a great source of inspiration as well as a personal passion dating back to when I was a child. To begin with, I was a real fan of American westerns and Italian light comedies. Later I was mesmerised by the neo-realists. As an adult, when I finally entered the world of fashion, I discovered how much of an influence cinema has on my ideas about style and design.

10. Exercising. Before starting my working day, I work out for 90 minutes under the supervision of a personal trainer- about 45 minutes of aerobic exercise and then 45 minutes of weight training. It has become a daily ritual but, more importantly, a necessary one.