Armani Code Cologne

Armani Code Cologne is often referred to as “Armani Black Code”. That’s because the Armani Code cologne bottle comes in a distinctive black fragrance bottle. Armani Code For Men is a little more expensive than some of the men’s fragrances we’ve covered on this blog, so you’ll have to keep that in mind when considering a purchase. Armani Code Cologne retails online for about $45 for a 2.7 ounce bottle.

Armani Code Cologne Fragrance Notes

Armani Code contains a blend of lemon and bergamot essences, with smaller touches of orange blossom, Tonka bean oil and Guaiic wood. The result is a fresh, clean mens fragrance with a relatively long-lasting scent. Some men have complained that Armani Black Code Cologne doesn’t last long enough, but the Mediterranean fragrances remain seductive and sexy for hours.

Why Call It “Armani Black Code” and “Armani Code”?

I read one report that Armani changed the name of “Black Code” to simply “Code” because “black code” referred to some outbreak of the plague, though that seems like a fairly obscure reason to avoid a name. Also, I haven’t been able to find a reference to this plague, which likely would have been the black plague.

Google “black code” and you’ll find the probable reason that Armani changed the name of its cologne.

Black Code Laws

After the U.S. Civil War, rural communities in Southern U.S. states passed racially discriminating laws that have come to be called the “Black Codes”. These laws were passed to keep freed slaves from integrating into white society. The black codes controlled the movement, work terms and other activities of American blacks living in the American South.

These laws, started in South Carolina and Mississippi, attempted to segregate races, but did not survive the Reconstruction Era (1865-1876).

Unfortunately, post-Reconstruction segregation laws based on the flawed and dishonest “separate but equal” status in the South were instituted, which lasted all the way until the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965. These later laws were referred to as “Jim Crow Laws”. The Jim Crow Laws were similar to, but different from, the Black Code laws.

From Black Code to Just Code

I imagine that Georgio Armani marketed Armani Black Code Cologne for a time, then got a number of complains from people who couldn’t believe they chose such a racially-insensitive name for their cologne product. Pretty soon, Armani Code Cologne stopped having the word “black” on the bottle, though the black bottle and the initial marketing meant customers still refer to the product as Armani Black Code Cologne.

About Giorgio Armani

Giorgia Armani was born in 1934 in Italy, and he began working in the fashion industry at age 27. From 1961 to 1970, Giorgio Armani was an assistant designer for the Nino Cerruti fashion house. Armani became a freelance designer from 1970 to 1974, but established his own menswear line in 1974. This proved successful and Giorgia Armani introduced a womens line the next year.

In 1980, Giorgio Armani first got international fame, when he tailored for the Richard Gere character in American Gigolo. This began a rapid rise for the fashion designer, who was estimated to be worth $1.7 billion in 2001.

Over the years, Giorgio Armani has been a leader in the industry. Armani banned the use of models with a BMI under 18, after Brazilian model, Ana Carolina Reston died of anorexia. He obviously was sensitive to negative feedback when his product lines have offensive names, of course.

These days, Giorgio Armani continues to design for high-profile celebrities. Armani designed Bruce Wayne’s suits in The Dark Knight. He has also designed sports uniforms for teams like the English National Football Team, the Chelsea football club of London, and Italian athletes for the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Armani is a huge fan of AC Milan, Italy’s most famous football club.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 8:31 pm and is filed under Cologne. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Armani Code Cologne

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