NEW YORK, Jun 4, 2007/ FW/ --- Continuing the ‘one-stop shopping destination’ model that Giorgio Armani started at Via Manzoni in Milan, Giorgio Armani SpA announced Thursday that the new Armani flagship store scheduled to open Fall 2008 will follow the same concept.

According to the announcement, a long-term lease agreement had been signed for a property at 717 Fifth Avenue and will boast of 47,000 square feet retail space when finished.

Billed as “Armani/Fifth Avenue,” the new flagship location will house Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Junior, and Armani Casa, and will feature Armani and Emporio Armani accessories, watches, eyewear, jewelry, and fragrances.

And, if it will truly mirror the Via Manzoni location in Milan, chances are it will also have a flower shop, a shop for sweets, an Armani restaurant and bar, and a Giorgio Armani beauty area.

When finished, Armani/Fifth Avenue will be the fifth multi-faceted retail destination for Giorgio Armani SpA. The first one, where the concept was originally developed and opened in 2000 is Armani/Via Manzoni in Milan.

Armani/Charter in Hong Kong and Armani/Munich in Germany subsequently followed, with Armani/Ginza Tower in Japan slated to open November 2007.

Meanwhile, in other news, during the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival, Giorgio Armani announced his support for Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation.

With the objective of the preserving and restoring important neglected films hailing principally from Third World countries, the non-profit organization has lined up an impressive cast of fellow auteurs for the World Cinema Foundation's Board of Advisors, including Guillermo Del Toro, Stephen Frears, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Abbas Kiarostami, Ermanno Olmi, Walter Salle, Bertrand Tavernier, Wim Wenders and Wong Kar Wai.

Armani was mum about how much he’s committing to the project, but rumor has it that it was a major six-figure check.

"Just as for Martin, cinema has inspired and influenced my life from when I was a young boy. The mission of the World Cinema Foundation is fundamental to the preservation of important films from around the world, which will inspire and influence future generations,” said the fashion designer in a statement from Milan.