Who is Leo dell'Orco, Giorgio Armani's right-hand man

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Leo Dell'Orco and Giorgio Armani Credits: Courtesy of Armani, credit SGP

The first official endorsement was in June 2021, when Giorgio Armani, at the end of the men's fashion show, appeared hand in hand with Leo Dell'Orco. "It felt right to come out with Leo, who has been helping me with the men's collections for so many years; he is my collaborator and is very good, just like my niece Silvana is with womenswear. So, I am preparing my future with the people I am currently in charge of", Armani emphasised.

Today, the second to last day of fashion week, the long-time collaborator attended the Giorgio Armani SS26 fashion show alone, as he did on Saturday, the day the Emporio Armani menswear show took place. The designer, Giorgio Armani, was at home recovering from an illness.

dell'Orco: "I prefer to stay behind the scenes and do the important things from there, that's all"

But who is Leo, Pantaleo, Dell'Orco? Born in Bisceglie, in the province of Bari, on 2 November 1952, he is head of the men's style office of the Armani Group, and Giorgio Armani's right-hand man. In July 2019, he became chairman of the board of directors of Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, which has been headed by Giorgio Armani since 2008. Under Dell'Orco's leadership, the basketball team won the 2022 and 2023 league titles; the 2020 Super Cup; the 2021 and 2022 Italian Cup; and reached the EuroLeague Final Four in 2021, according to chairman Pantaleo Dell'Orco's biography.

Until recently, Dell'Orco had greater visibility for his role at Olimpia. But, in fact, he has been close to Giorgio Armani for over 45 years.

Armani: Dell'Orco is "the person to whom I have entrusted my most private thoughts, personal, work and otherwise, which he has kept to himself with great discretion. Thank you, Leo!"

In Giorgio Armani's autobiography, ‘Per Amore’, published by Mondadori Electa, Rizzoli Illustrati Collection, and released in November 2022, Armani speaks about his right-hand man, Leo Dell'Orco. "His real name is Pantaleo… he is the person to whom I have entrusted my most private thoughts, personal, work and otherwise, which he has kept to himself with great discretion. Thank you, Leo!"

In an interview given in 2023 by Dell'Orco to the newspaper Repubblica, he said: "I prefer to stay behind the scenes and do the things that matter from there, that's all". When asked if Armani was a demanding person to work with, he replied: "I don't think he has ever told me I was good. By the grace of God, he gave me a pat on the back once. But I don't suffer from it, by now I know how he thinks. And another thing: if it were up to him, he would do everything at once. You can't keep up with him."

Head-to-heads with the Piacenza-born designer were not infrequent: "If I am convinced of something, I don't give up. The funniest thing is when Giorgio calls me for an opinion while they are working on womenswear. When I arrive, I see terror in everyone's eyes, because they know that I always say what I think, and that I insist until he is convinced", he told Repubblica.

And judging by the short press release on Friday, it seems that Giorgio Armani has, for some time, been completely convinced about who his heir will be.

"On the occasion of the Emporio Armani fashion shows tomorrow (last Saturday) and Giorgio Armani on Monday 23 June, we would like to inform you that Mr Armani, currently at home convalescing, will not be present at the two shows as usual. In his place, Leo Dell'Orco, head of style for the men's lines, will come out to greet the audience at the end of the fashion shows", the Friday note read.

"Mr Armani has worked with his usual dedication on the collections that will be presented. Although he cannot be physically present, he will closely follow every stage of the organisation", the label added.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

Emporio Armani

Giorgio Armani

Leo Dell'Orco

SS26