Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani dies aged 91

The Armani Group said on Thursday that Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91.

The fashion house announced, "With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani."

It went on to say that Armani "passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones." "Tireless, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, its collections, and the diverse and ever-evolving projects both existing and in progress."

Armani had been sick for a while, and when he didn't show up for Milan's Men's Fashion Week in June, it was the first time in his career that he had missed one of his runway shows. He was last seen in public on May 21.

In the current luxury landscape, which is dominated by conglomerates such as Louis Vuitton owner LVMH and Gucci parent company Kering, Armani was one of the few designers to remain the sole shareholder of his company. There is still no clear successor to the Armani business. In 2024, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said the company was worth between 8 and 10 billion euros ($9.3 billion to $11.7 billion).

A string of celebrations for Armani’s 50th year in business have been planned to take place during Milan Fashion Week this month, including the unveiling of an exhibition at the Pinacoteca di Brera — the first at the museum to be dedicated to fashion — and a runway show at Palazzo Brera.

He started his firm, which is now known as "Re Giorgio" or "King Giorgio," in 1975. The statement said that the brand became known for its elegant, minimalist design that "extended from fashion to every aspect of life."

Armani was born in 1934 in the northern Italian town of Piacenza. He didn't get interested in fashion professionally until 1957, when he landed a position as a window dresser at the iconic La Rinascente department store in Milan after studying medicine and serving in the military.

In 1964, designer Nino Cerruti took a chance on Armani, who was then a buyer at La Rinascente, and hired him to design men's clothes.

Armani met Sergio Galeotti, an architect who would become his life and business partner, while working for Cerruti. Galeotti talked Armani into starting his own firm, and in 1975 they started the Giorgio Armani brand together.

Their initial line of men's clothes did well in the US. In 1976, Barney's New York sold it, and the department store even made a TV ad to introduce Armani to American buyers. Soon after, the firm released a women's clothing line that featured an androgynous appearance for the first time.

Diane Keaton wore Armani's debut red-carpet dress to the Academy Awards in 1978. That night, she received an Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal in Annie Hall.

Hollywood took notice of his clothing. Richard Gere made the Armani suit popular in the movie "American Gigolo" in 1980, making it a status symbol. Soon, outfitting celebs for the red carpet became a way for the company to advertise itself. Many of the biggest celebrities of the day — Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sophia Loren, Jodie Foster, Sean Connery and Tina Turner, among others — were all pictured wearing its creations. This made for a tough competition with Gianni Versace, another prominent name in Italian fashion in the 1980s. Versace's flashy style was very different from Armani's more subtle styles.

Over the years, Armani launched a popular diffusion line, Emporio Armani, as well as other successful spin-offs such as Armani Jeans, Armani Exchange and the home interiors brand Armani/Casa. He opened a big Armani store in central Milan in 2011. It took almost a whole block. It sells things from several different Armani lines, such as flowers, chocolates, jewelry, and cosmetics.

Armani acquired Olimpia Milano, Italy's most successful basketball team, in 2008. He had been a sports lover for a long time. He then launched EA7, a sports apparel range inspired by the jersey number of Ukrainian soccer player Andriy Shevchenko, once a striker for AC Milan. Using that range's style as inspiration, he went on to design the uniforms for the Italian squad in the 2012 London Olympics, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Galeotti died of AIDS in 1985, leaving Armani as the only owner of the firm. Of his relationship with Galeotti, Armani told Vanity Fair in 2000: “Love is too reductive a term.  It was a profound complicity with life and the environment around it.

Though the funeral service will be private, in accordance with Armani’s wishes, the wake at the fashion house’s dramatic Milan headquarters and showspace, the Teatro Armani, will be open to the public Saturday and Sunday.