The legacy of Giorgio Armani, an icon of Italian elegance

Designer Giorgio Armani was dubbed 'Maximus Armani, the Emperor' or 'King Giorgio' by the press for his transformative role in the fashion industry in the 1970s. During a 50-year career, he enjoyed enormous success and a vast empire, which he led until his death on Thursday at the age of 91, following long-standing health problems.

The Italian couturier's story began in Piacenza, northern Italy, on July 11, 1934, in a middle-class family. When he was five years old, World War II broke out. It's known that his father worked for Benito Mussolini's Fascist party, and very little about his mother. After a childhood marked by war and an accident that nearly took his life, he was adrift as a young man.

Before entering the world of fashion, he began studying medicine with a scholarship at the University of Milan, but dropped out due to military service. His first exposure to the industry came in 1957, through his first jobs as a purchasing assistant and later as head of interior design at La Rinascente, one of Milan's department stores.

Another of his experiences was when he worked as a designer for the textile and clothing manufacturer Nino Cerrutini. This took place between 1964 and 1970. It is said that this was when he truly began to develop an innate understanding of the world of clothing. And from then on, it was a turning point in his career.

In 1975, at the age of 41, she sold her Volkswagen Beetle to found her eponymous brand with Sergio Galeotti, a young architect and entrepreneur, with whom she maintained a professional and romantic relationship. Together, they created one of the most influential fashion houses of the late 20th century. In July of that year, she presented her first menswear collection and, months later, began designing womenswear.

Giorgio Armani will be remembered as one of the great fashion designers of the 20th century and today for introducing the unstructured suit, which revolutionized fashion by bringing femininity to men's tailoring.

Since launching his first collections, he eliminated the rigidity of suits, opting for soft silhouettes, light cuts, and fluid lines. According to Taschen's book Fashion Designers A-Z , Armani created what he described as "a lightweight jacket, as comfortable as a shirt, sensual even in its structure."

In addition to turning the suit into a symbol of modernity and marking a before and after, even in corporate dress, he also taught fashion to combine timeless elegance with a contemporary style, with his garments usually featuring straight and sober lines.

With his women's collections, he emphasized an androgynous aesthetic, breaking stereotypes and empowering the feminine image . "I was the first to soften the image of men and harden the image of women," the designer once said.

Today, their collections maintain the same line, with select materials, sometimes with applications of rhinestones or metallic threads, and a color palette that since its origins has been and will continue to be subtle, neutral, and discreet.

Giorgio Armani's success and the expansion of his brand began in the 1980s when he dressed actor Richard Gere in a suit in the film American Gigolo , turning it into a status symbol. In 1985, Time magazine dedicated a cover to him, which helped him break into the North American market and conquer Hollywood. In addition to Gere, other celebrities began wearing his designs on the red carpet.

After Sergio Galeotti's death in 1985, Armani became the company's sole shareholder, and his brand began to grow, introducing other product lines such as shoes, handbags, accessories, eyewear, jewelry, fragrances, cosmetics, home, and hospitality. Giorgio Armani has maintained his independence and avoided being taken over by large conglomerates. According to Vogue magazine, he has more than 350 stores worldwide.

His empire is divided into different lines such as Armani Privé (haute couture), Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Exchange, and the home interiors brand Armani/Casa. The Armani restaurant business branch debuted in 1998 with its first location in Paris, the first of more than 20 spread across four continents. In 2011, he opened a massive Armani complex, occupying an entire city block in central Milan. He also has a prestigious line of hotels in Milan and Dubai.

Giorgio Armani's influence on fashion extends to the world of sports. Since 2008, he has owned Olimpia Milano, Italy's most successful basketball team, which dresses in clothing made by EA7, another of his lines. He has also dressed the Italian national soccer team, the Olympic Games delegation, and several athletes and players from teams such as Napoli and Juventus.

According to CNN, there is no clear heir to Armani's business, which Bloomberg Intelligence analysts valued at between €8 billion and €10 billion in 2024. However, Forbes reported that for now, the designer's empire will be transferred to his Foundation, "albeit with some details regarding the distribution of shares."

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Throughout his career, Giorgio Armani has received significant accolades, including being named a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2021) and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. In 2000, the Guggenheim Museum in New York hosted an exhibition of his work.

According to an official statement from the company, the nonagenarian entrepreneur and designer "worked until his final days." Other designers in the industry, such as Donatella Versace, Michael Kors, and Ralph Lauren, expressed their sadness and sent messages of admiration to the Italian.

The news of his departure comes at a time of celebration for the brand. Since January, after presenting his haute couture collection in Paris, Giorgio Armani opened an exhibition at Armani/Silos, his art and fashion museum in Milan, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Armani Privé line. The exhibition, curated by the designer and open until December 28, features around 150 haute couture pieces that trace the designer's work since his debut with his Privé collection in 2005.

Meanwhile, at the Venice International Film Festival, which concluded yesterday, the Italian house began its 50th anniversary celebration with the official launch of ARMANI/Archivio , a digital platform created to share the company's historical heritage. According to Vogue , "more than an archive, it's a conceptual dictionary that traces half a century of creativity and evolution, rescuing iconic pieces to connect with new generations." It's available at archivio.armani.com.

The commemoration of the half-century will continue at the next edition of Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026, which will take place from September 23 to 28. During fashion week , in addition to the catwalk, Milan's La Rinascente will pay tribute to the designer's beginnings with window displays inspired by his historical archive. On the 24th of this month, an exhibition open to the public featuring 150 iconic Giorgio Armani looks will open at the Pinacoteca di Brera , bringing his important legacy even more alive.