Giorgio Armani: A tribute to the king of Italian fashion

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Giorgio Armani Menswear Autumn/Winter 2025 Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight

Giorgio Armani has passed away at the age of 91. “As long as I'm here, I'm the boss,” the Italian designer told GQ in a 2021 interview. Since 1975, he had been at the helm of the Armani Group, parent company of his namesake brand as well as the Emporio Armani and A/X Armani Exchange brands. While the Armani name is primarily known for having marked the 1980s through elegant, flowing and comfortable silhouettes, the designer himself never ceased to influence fashion and future generations of designers.

Early career

Giorgio Armani was 41 when he founded his company. In his youth, the designer studied medicine before turning to fashion. His experience in merchandising and buying at La Rinascente department store in Milan – when he was only 18 – marked his debut in fashion.

However, it was at Nino Cerruti, alongside the designer himself, that the young Armani trained in menswear and the art of tailoring. He worked for several years as an independent designer, collaborating with several fashion brands, before meeting Sergio Galeotti in the late 1960s. Galeotti became his associate and partner and encouraged him to start his own company. The two men sold Armani’s car, an old VW Beetle, and founded Giorgio Armani SpA in 1975.

Building an empire

Dedication, rigour and meticulousness are probably the words that best define Armani’s vision of work. The fashion designer worked tirelessly to build a group, to build an empire.

After the launch of his eponymous brand in 1975, he unveiled Emporio Armani in 1986, a younger, more modern and accessible version of the Armani wardrobe. A/X Armani Exchange was launched in 1991 and less than ten years later Armani Privé, Armani’s haute couture collection, was born in 2005. The designer quickly wanted to move out of the restrictive clothing sector, broadening his offer to a more global lifestyle.

He developed his first fragrances in 1982 and a home range in 2000. He operated high-end restaurant chains, cafes and bars around the world. In 2010, he launched his first hotel in Dubai and a year later unveiled another address in Milan. In 2001, he created his own “Teatro” in collaboration with the Japanese architect Tadao Ando, which would become the venue for the presentation of his collections. He once again called upon Ando to design his own Armani/Silos museum (2015).

At the end of August 2025, Armani had just bought one of the oldest clubs still in operation in the world: the legendary Capannina di Franceschi, in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

A unique style

In an interview with Numéro, the Italian designer confided: “It was Cerruti himself – to whom I owe a great deal of foresight – who asked me for new solutions to make a suit less rigid, more comfortable, less industrial and more elaborate. It was then that, by deconstructing the jacket, I brought it to life on the body, using non-traditional fabrics.”

1980s men's fashion did not suit Armani. Unable to find a product that met his expectations, he decided to create it. He got rid of the heavy, stiff suits with bulky shoulders that stifled the silhouette. Instead, he offered a fluid, comfortable and elegant two-piece suit that would become his trademark.

The designer developed a line of suits for women, blending powerful and minimalist lines. Armani began working on film costumes – he would create more than 200 – including American Gigolo (1980), which marked his Hollywood debut. His creations were then adopted by the biggest celebrities and film stars.

A fashion designer committed to humanitarian work

A man of fashion with great humanity, Armani has multiplied his actions in favour of the most disadvantaged. In particular, the designer helped Afghan refugees during the crisis that gripped the country in the early 2000s. This contribution was praised when he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador by the UNHCR in 2002.

Ten years earlier, he had become involved with AIDS victims, supporting ANLAIDS, an Italian association fighting the disease. In 2022, the Armani group donated 500,000 euros to the UNHCR to help Ukrainian refugees forced to leave their country.

Contribution to his country’s prosperity

Armani quickly established himself as one of the most popular Italian designers, propelling Italian fashion to the forefront. The Italian government rewarded Armani for his contribution to fashion and the national economy and awarded him the Grand Officer prize in 1986. Italian and proud of it, the designer began designing the outfits for the Italian Olympic and Paralympic teams in 2012. Armani also collaborated on restorations of heritage sites and major cultural projects to promote Italy. 1984 marked his participation in the restoration of the Abbey of San Fruttuoso in Camogli, followed by many others.

Against the frantic fashion system

In an open letter to the WWD, the designer declared: “The decline of the fashion system as we know it began when the luxury segment adopted the operating methods of fast fashion, mimicking the latter’s endless delivery cycle in the hope of selling more, but forgetting that luxury takes time.” Armani opposed the frantic pace of fashion, the off-season, and overproduction. He advocated less is more, timeless pieces capable of resisting ephemeral trends.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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