David Miller (second from right) says he and his Il Divo mates (from left) Urs Bühler, Sébastien Izambard, and Carlos Marín savor classy clothes.
(Eddy Risch/Ap/Keystone/File 2007)
G FORCE | IL DIVO
'A little bit of glitz'
David Miller (second from right) says he and his Il Divo mates (from left) Urs Bühler, Sébastien Izambard, and Carlos Marín savor classy clothes.
(Eddy Risch/Ap/Keystone/File 2007)
They are known as much for their operatic pop as they are for their swanky suits and love of hair product. But now Il Divo, the crooning quartet assembled by "American Idol" mastermind Simon Cowell in 2004, is going high fashion. For their current tour, which brings them to the Agganis Arena tonight, the band's wardrobe was custom designed by Giorgio Armani. The Italian designer, who calls the band "powerful and mesmerizing," created suits that Il Divo member David Miller says "have sparkle and a little bit of glitz going on, but it's all within the classy Armani touch." We chatted with Miller last week about Armani, Cowell, and dressing like a pirate.
Q. I just assumed that Simon was the puppet master pulling all the strings and making all decisions, including your wardrobe. How much say does he have?
A. Not a word. He's a brilliant puppet master. He has his ideas of what he wants to achieve, and he knows how to get what he wants. I respect him for being able to amass the empire that he has. When it came to Il Divo, he wanted this to evolve on its own. When it comes to the tour, it's up to us. He's focused on the records and has the final say on the albums. He's not involved in the tour.
Q. How did you get Armani to design your suits? That's quite a coup.
A. It was coordinated through our stylist. He's had a casual relationship with Mr. Armani for a few years and he's the one who set up the official deal. Armani actually styled the look of the entire show and has given us bespoke suits. You can tell it's Armani because it's unmistakably classy. It's really a bonus for us, because we try to make our music as classy as possible.
Q. Have you guys ever thought of straying from the suits on stage?
A. We do a little bit. In our second look for the show, two of us lose our jackets.
Q. That doesn't count!
A. We've tried different looks, every time we try, it ends up being too casual. We've tried jeans, but we just end up looking like a boy band.
Q. There's a stereotype that Americans are not as well-dressed as Europeans. As the only American member of Il Divo, do you think that's true?
A. It's hard to say because we're all so different. Sébastien [Izambard] likes to wear fancier clothes. He likes Dolce & Gabbana. Urs [Bühler] is letting his heavy metal biker days catch up with him a little bit. Carlos [Marín] is a bit more conservative. He wears button-down shirts, jeans, and black boots. I like the whole sloppy rock star look. It's a little "Pirates of the Caribbean." But I'm not a slob. I just have a lot of contradiction going on.
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