Hey, they’re both Italian.  The Giorgio Armani empire is relaunching its ecommerce, but the site will be run by multi-brand online retailer Yoox.  The idea behind the relaunch is to collect all the Armani lines, including Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Armani Jr., Armani Jeans, EA7as, and Emporio Armani under one digital roof.  Right now they appear under the Armani.com umbrella in name only — clicking a particular collection redirects shoppers to a different site for each one.

Does outsourcing a design house’s web site to a big online-only retailer help the brand?  Somehow we think the answer is yes — we imagine this partnership will work well.  If so, will any other e-commerce giants join forces with individual labels?  Would, say, Shopbop take up the mantle and run an e-store for an American designer?