With him, a fashion era comes to an end: Italian star designer Giorgio Armani has died surrounded by his family. Armani shaped the international fashion world for decades – and built a global empire.
Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died. The owner of the billion-dollar company of the same name died at the age of 91, the fashion house announced on social media. He worked until his final days and now died surrounded by his loved ones, it was said. Armani was one of the most influential fashion designers in the world.
He became known for menswear with minimalist cuts and muted colors. His name has long been a classic in womenswear as well. Armani let Hollywood stars shine in elegant individual creations, but also sold perfume and jeans in large series in his stores.
Armani was born on July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. After World War II, the family moved to Milan, where the company headquarters are still located today. After graduating from high school, he began studying medicine, which he dropped out after two years.
He took his first steps in the fashion world in the 1960s as a window dresser and buyer for the Italian department store chain La Rinascente. He created his first own designs for the company of Italy's grand master Nino Cerruti (1930-2022). He never had a university degree or any other formal training in his field.
Armani made suits looser – and allowed T-shirts
In the 1980s, Armani made a name for himself as the man who reinvented the men's jacket. He took the stiffness out of suit fabrics, making everything softer, flowing, and more casual. A second Armani revolution was his ability to wear a T-shirt with a suit.
Armani has dressed numerous Hollywood stars: Richard Gere in"American Gigolo," Kevin Costner ("The Untouchables"), Tom Cruise ("Mission: Impossible"), and Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Wolf of Wall Street"). Many also remember Oscar appearances by Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett in Armani.
Since 1985, sole CEO
A key component of his success was his partnership with fellow Italian Sergio Galeotti. The two founded the Giorgio Armani SpA group together in 1975. Galeotti oversaw the company's financial affairs until his untimely death in 1985. Since his partner's death, Armani held the reins of the fashion empire solely in his hands.
With an estimated fortune of more than eleven billion euros, he made it onto the Forbes list of the world's richest people. He never took his company public. He also rejected all takeover offers. Today, the Armani Group employs 8,700 people around the globe, operates more than 2,000 stores, often in prime locations, and operates a dozen factories.
AFP/AP/ll/ceb
