Milan (AP) – Giorgio Armanithe iconic Italian designer who transformed the notion of modest elegance into a multi-billion dollar fashion empire passed away Thursday, his fashion house confirmed. He was 91 years old.
Armani died at home. “In peace, surrounded by loved ones,” Fashion House said. “It was disabled until the very end, and he worked until the last day, focusing on his company, his collection, and many ongoing and future projects,” Fashion House said in a statement.
Armani is one of the most famous names and faces in the global fashion industry, Milan Fashion Week In June 2025, during a preview of Spring/Summer 2026 menswear, it was recovered from its private state for the first time.
He was planning a major event this month at Milan Fashion Week to celebrate 50 years of his signature Giorgio Armani Fashion House.
Public viewing took place at the Armani Theatre, revealing ready-made collections on Saturday and Sunday. The funeral was held personally and no details were announced.
Political leaders and other Milan fashion designers poured merchandise and memories of sadness.
“Today, the world has lost a giant. He makes history and will be remembered forever,” Donatella Versace said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who often dressed in Armani’s business attire, remembers the designer of his “elegance, drinking, creativity” and said he was “the best Italian symbol.”
Armani posted ready-made Italian clothing on the international fashion map in the late 1970s, creating an instantly recognisable, relaxed silhouette that has been promoting fashion houses for half a century.
From executive offices to Hollywood screens, Armani was made in a rich and well-known classic tailored style with ultra-soft fabrics and muted tones. His handsome black tie outfit and glittering evening dresses often stole shows on the awards season red carpet.
Armani had it at the time of his death I’ll bring you together the empire According to Forbes, in addition to clothing, accessories, furniture, perfumes, cosmetics, books, flowers, and even more than $10 billion, which ranked him among the top 20 billion varieties in the world.
The designer also owned several bars, clubs, restaurants and his own basketball team, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Armani has opened more than 20 restaurants from Milan to Tokyo since 1998, one in Dubai in 2009 and the other in Milan in 2010.
Armani himself was the basis of his style
Armani’s style began from Giorgio Armani himself to penetrating blue eyes surrounded by permanent sunburn and early impacts of silver hair, to his trademark dark pants and t-shirt workwear, and minimalist ornaments in his private home.
Armani’s fashion vision was a fashion vision of elegance, with attention to detail making a difference.
“I design for real people. There’s no virtue in creating clothes and accessories that are not practical,” he liked to say when asked to identify customers.
In the conversation, the designer’s disarming smiles and exquisitely gentle manners have enabled him to turn his creative talent into a fashion empire that exceeds $10 billion. Mergers and sales, Regiorgio (King George) has always been his own boss, just as the Italians call him.
Designer Giorgio Armani, Centre will be posing as a model at the end of the 2019 Spring/Summer collection, which was announced on September 23, 2019 during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy.
Born on July 11, 1934 in Piacenza, a small town south of Milan, Armani dreamed of becoming a doctor before working part-time as a window maker at a Milan department store.
In 1975, Armani and his partner Sergio Galeotti launched their own menswear ready-made labels, selling Volkswagen for $10,000. Women’s clothing continued a year later.
His new style symbol was launched in the late 1970s and became a success from Hollywood to Wall Street. The designer paired the jacket with a simple T-shirt, a clothing item that he called “Alpha and Omega of the fashion alphabet.”
Armani suits quickly became a must-have in the heeled man’s closet. And for women, the introduction of pantsuits in the executive workroom was all revolutionary. Called “power suits,” a jacket with shoulders and human trousers, it became a trademark of the businesswomen’s rising class in the 1980s.
Over the years, Armani softened the look with delicate details, luxurious fabrics and bright shades of his basic beige and gray palette. His claims about pants and jackets led critics to label his fashion “hermothermore.”
Armani hits Hollywood
The 1980 film classic, “American Gigolo,” launched both Armani and actor Richard Gere during his Hollywood career. Dressed in Armani, Gere became the heartbeat of America’s new favorite, and became “Geeargeeo,” who called him the Glam Set’s most popular designer.
Hollywood Connection won wardrobe movie credits for over 200 movies and won the “Walk of Style” location on Rodeo Drive in 2003.
Oscar nights were always shining, with smart suits for men and glittering gowns for women. 2009 Best Actor winner Sean Penn picked up the statue in a black-on-black Armani outfit, while best actress candidate Anne Hathaway walked the red carpet in a sparkling white strapless evening dress from Armani’s latest Prab Couture collection.
Other longtime followers include Jodie Foster, George Clooney, Sofia Lauren and Brad Pitt. David and Victoria Beckham were “faces” in the 2009 underwear ad campaign.
At the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2000, the influence of the Armani style was very important, not just how people dressed, but also how they approached fashion.
“I love old things, and I love what’s not dating is the absolute best living example,” Armani said of his efforts.
Armani is far beyond fashion
Having held his empire and collection all the way to the end, Armani was reluctant to discuss successors, but he unveiled the foundation as a succession tool to keep his business from splitting. Unusual in the Italian fashion world, he never sold a part of his company to outsiders.
He also showed it Creative inheritance We go to longtime collaborator Leo Delcorco and his Nie Silvana Armani. He leads the collection of men’s and women’s clothing from all Armani collections, respectively: Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Armani Exchange.
Today, the Armani Empire has an army of over 9,000 employees, including half of its executive suites and 600 stores worldwide, along with a part of its family and more than 600 stores worldwide, according to figures released in 2023. The designer opened his fifth multi-brand store on Fashionable Fifth Avenue in New York in February 2009.
In the area of fashion hobbies, Armani owned not only a basketball team, but also several bars, restaurants and clubs. Recreation hours were spent on vacation in the countryside Broni near Milan, Pantereria off the coast of Sicily, and St. Tropez on the French Riviera. Each house had a trademark for Armani’s design: bare walls, important works, a few small items.
Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has admitted his applause after unveiling the Emporio Armani Men’s Fall Winter 2017 collection, part of Milan Fashion Week, which was released in Italy on January 18, 2016.
Like many of his colleagues, Armani tried to return some of the fame and fortune he accumulated during the heyday of “Moda Milanese,” which placed Italian at the centre of the world’s fashion map at the turn of the millennium. In 2002, Armani was personally involved in several charities dedicated to children and solid supporters of the fight against AIDS.
Galeotti passed away in 1985. Armani had no children, but he was very close to his Nie Roberta. She abandoned her budding film career and became a director of public relations, often representing her uncle, who was not a party attendant in social events. More recently, she was a key middleman who won the celebrity world as head of VIP Relations.
In 2006, she coordinated the wedding of actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ Topville in a medieval castle on the outskirts of Rome, and Uncle Giorgio designed the outfits for both the bride and the flower groo.
Armani is survived by his sister Rosanna and son Andrea Camerana. Nie is Silvana and Roberta, daughters of his late brother Sergio.
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Daniela Petrov, who covered Milan fashion for the Associated Press for over 30 years, retired in 2017.
