Giorgio Armani: haute-couture for Ronda’s Pedro Romero fair

Giorgio Armani was the archetype of Italian style. Creating classic elegance, he reimagined men's and women's suits, as well as the classic Andalusian outfit - the bullfighter's costume.

In 2009, the traditional ‘Corrida Goyesca’ bullfight in the famous Plaza de Toros was special. That year, it featured the powerful matadors José María Manzanares, Miguel Ángel Perera and Cayetano Rivera, who belongs to the long line of famous Ordóñez bullfighters (his great-grandfather Cayetano Ordóñez was the prototype for the young matador in Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises).

Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez made his debut with picadors on 26 March 2005 at the Ronda bullring, and a couple of years later he was already walking the catwalk. This transformation was made possible by the matador's meeting with the great couturier.

In October 2006, Giorgio Armani came to Valencia to open his boutique. It is believed that he asked to meet with Cayetano Rivera. At the meeting, the bullfighter from Ronda and the Italian designer discussed fashion and bullfighting traditions. Like Picasso had once done before, Giorgio Armani also wanted to create his own bullfighter's costume. The story goes that the designer proposed creating a ‘traje de luces’ (‘suit of lights’) for Rivera, which he could wear during the ‘feria goyesca’ bullfight.

Additionally, the Italian designer offered Cayetano the opportunity to participate in his fashion show as an ambassador for his brand and, in 2007, Cayetano Rivera walked the runway with Roberta Armani at Milan Fashion Week. Later, the matador starred in an advertising campaign specialising in bespoke suits and also appeared on the cover of Vogue alongside Penélope Cruz.

No sooner said than done. Giorgio Armani created a form-fitting three-piece suit in his favourite shade of griege, a special shade between beige and grey. The pieces of the suit were hand-embroidered in Milan and then assembled in a Madrid tailor's shop specialising in bullfighting clothing. The embroidery was done using small Swarovski crystals and a very special silver thread that formed delicate arabesque profiles, in addition to the traditional sequins. The result was impressive, a combination of haute couture and traditional bullfighting costume.

The bullfighting costume was prepared for the 2008 fair, but remained hanging in the wardrobe because Cayetano was injured.

On 5 September 2009, Cayetano Rivera appeared at the entrance to the arena wearing the cape, which reached the bullfighter's calves and was topped with a small cape covering the matador's shoulders. The bullfighter elegantly walked through the historic bullring in Ronda, which for a moment was transformed into an international catwalk.

At the end of the bullfight, the costume, sparkling with rhinestones in the evening sun of Ronda, ‘skillfully’ concealed the bloody stains from the conquered bull. The audience in the stands shouted compliments, and this time, obviously, not so much for the bullfight itself, but for the outfit created by the great fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who became the big star of the 53rd Goyesca Bullfight in Ronda.