The large Armani store was empty, apart from a couple of immaculately coiffed women looking at summer dresses.

Others connect the pared-down esthetic of the new Calvin Klein and Armani stores with the furniture's popularity.

Shanghai, now home to an Armani store, has become a mecca for stylists and photographers who consider themselves among the avant-garde.

In the end, the Armani store suggests that Mr. Marino is most comfortable as a decorator, not an architect.

"It was about creating a kind of comfort area," said Cathy Campanile, the director of development and operations for Armani stores in the United States.

An Armani store here is very similar to an Armani store in Asia.

He found a tuxedo at the Armani store in Beverly Hills and was introduced there as Alan Ball, Golden Globe nominee.

The story of how the property is being transformed into something to rival the Armani store rising diagonally across the street is a study in creative design and marketing.

"Versace, Armani stores can't make money, either," one retailer said, "but it's an opportunity to showcase, another way to advertise - and everybody knows it."

Nor were there any customers in the Armani store, Ms. Keating said.