“It is with infinite sadness that the Armani Group announces the death of its creator, founder and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani,” the fashion house said in a statement, according to Reuters. Armani, who was 91, was synonymous with modern Italian style and elegance; he combined the talent of a designer with the acumen of a businessman and led a company with annual sales of around 2.3 billion euros (roughly 56.3 billion crowns), Reuters writes.

Armani had been unwell for some time and was forced to pull out of his group's shows at Milan Men's Fashion Week in June. It was the first time in his career that he missed a catwalk event. The designer, known as"Re Giorgio" - King Giorgio - was renowned for overseeing every detail of his collection and every aspect of his business, from advertising to styling the models' hair as they walked the runway.

A man with steely eyes and icy blue eyes, Armani had a reputation as an uncompromising perfectionist. In private, Armani was reserved – just like his style. He disliked journalists and did not like giving interviews. The secret to his success was, in his own words, restraint. “I try not to overdo my imagination – and even if my imagination sometimes runs wild, I simply take a step back,” he once said.

The native of Piacenza near Milan presented his first collection in the Italian fashion capital in 1974 and a year later founded his own brand there with his life partner, the late Serge Galleotti. It gradually gained global prestige and expanded into the fields of cosmetics, music, sports and luxury hotels.

The company employs ten thousand people worldwide, operates thirteen of its own factories and approximately 250 stores in thirty-six countries. Armani was among the elite of his field for several decades. He brought a minimalist style to luxury men's fashion with his elegant and timeless creations. According to fashion designer Beata Rajská, he was a very distinctive person in the fashion world."I would say that since the time of Coco Chanel, there has been no one who has so significantly influenced design and, in a way, the simplicity and beauty of simplicity in fashion," she said.

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The company said, without giving further details, that Armani died at his home. A funeral chamber will be set up in Milan on Saturday and Sunday, followed by a private funeral at an unspecified date.

Armani wanted to become a doctor and studied medicine

Born on July 11, 1934, Armani originally wanted to become a doctor. However, two years of medical school were enough for him to realize that he would not wear the white coat. After completing his mandatory military service, he joined Milan's largest department store, La Rinascente, in 1957, first as a window dresser and then as a men's fashion buyer. After seven years, fashion designer Nino Cerruti hired him to his studio, where he gained experience in men's fashion for another six years before starting his own business.

Armani presented his first collection in 1974 in a small Milanese café. It was already in his typically sober spirit."I like it when a woman charms with discretion. We should only find out later that she has entered, not immediately when she enters," he once said. Armani founded the company a year later with Galleotti. In an interview for Vanity Fair magazine, he said that he had had relationships with both men and women in his life. However, he was unable to recover from Galleotti's death, who died in 1985 at the age of only forty.

Another turning point in his career came in 1980. The famous actor Richard Gere starred in a jacket from his workshop in the film American Gigolo, thus starting a new fashion wave."The jacket was the first thing I wanted to do. I invented a type of sports jacket that is relaxed, less formal, less tight," he later assessed in his entry in the fashion chronicle. And he offered the jacket to women as well.

Armani soon became a Hollywood star and his designs are traditionally given a large space at the Oscars. In addition to a number of films and theater performances, in the following years he participated in costumes for Alitalia flight attendants and for the Claudio Abbado orchestra. He also designed the interior of the Mercedes-Benz CLK 500.

In 2010, Armani launched a 3D advertising campaign for his brand. Later, he also focused on underwear, which was shown in commercials by footballers David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as tennis player Rafael Nadal. After the death of model Ana Carolina Reston from anorexia in 2006, Armani became the first world-famous designer to ban extremely thin models from the catwalk.

He was one of the richest Italians

One of the richest Italians (his fortune is currently estimated by Forbes magazine at twelve billion dollars and he was ranked among the two hundred richest people in the world) liked to spend his free time with his dogs, was involved in charity and ecology, and his hobby was sailing. He also exercised regularly since the age of fifty.

In July 2008, he received France's highest state decoration, becoming a Knight of the Legion of Honor. And in July 2021, he also received Italy's second highest decoration, the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

"I am never satisfied. I am obsessed with the search for perfection and I will never give up until I achieve the result I have strived for," declared Armani, who also sponsored the Milan basketball club and designed uniforms for the Italian Olympic and Paralympic teams.

He always spoke rather evasively or diplomatically about his competition. When he was critical, he generally opposed excessive extravagance and attempts to provoke at all costs."We'll take the clothes and then throw them away. I wanted to do something that people would remember. People would see who I was, what I loved," he summed up his philosophy in his 2010 will after serious health problems.

Last October, Armani announced his retirement. With no children to pass on the business to, speculation has been rife about the long-term future of his fashion empire. In an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Armani's heirs are expected to include his sister, three other family members who work at the company, longtime collaborator and partner Pantaleo Dell'Orco, and a charitable foundation.

Actors and Meloni remember Armani

"The world lost a great man today (Thursday) who made history and will forever be in our memories," reacted to Armani's death by Donatella Versace, who left her position as creative director of another Italian luxury fashion house, Versace, this year after 28 years.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also responded to Armani's death."With his elegance, sobriety and creativity, he was able to add luster to Italian fashion and inspire the whole world. An icon, a tireless worker, a symbol of the best of Italy. Thank you for everything," she said, according to Reuters.