Italian designer Giorgio Armani, who co-founded his namesake company in 1975 and became synonymous with the power suit, has died at the age of 91. The Armani Group announced on Thursday that the global fashion icon died at his home in Milan.
“With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder and tireless driving force,” said the fashion house in a statement.
He passed away “peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the company added. “Tireless, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, its collections, and the diverse and ever-evolving projects both existing and in progress.”
His employees and family added in a statement, “In this company, we have always felt like part of a family. Today, with deep emotion, we feel the void left by the one who founded and nurtured this family with vision, passion, and dedication. But it is precisely in his spirit that we, the employees and the family members who have always worked alongside Mr. Armani, commit to protecting what he built and to carrying his company forward in his memory, with respect, responsibility, and love.”
Armani had missed Milan Fashion Week in June 2025 for the first time during the previews of Spring-Summer 2026 menswear to recover from an undisclosed condition. This month he had been planning a major event to celebrate 50 years of his signature Giorgio Armani fashion house during Milan Fashion Week, the Associated Press reported.
Born in Piacenza, Italy, on July 11, 1934, Armani started his career as a window dresser, then became the tailoring protege to famed Italian menswear designer Nino Cerutti.
In 1975, Armani co-founded his eponymous company with his partner, Italian architect Sergio Galeotti. The label’s silhouettes went on to change fashion in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and beyond: he made tailoring flow. He softened shoulders, slimmed waists, used new and innovative but lush fabrics and introduced a palette of neutrals: from grey to the palest green; his famed suits for men and women had a rare patina: like shiny stones.
The lifelong cinephile enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with Hollywood, becoming a global sensation practically overnight with 1980’s American Gigolo, in which a shirtless Richard Gere rifles through a beguiling array of Armani suits. In the decades since, costume designers have turned to Armani to create some of the most swaggering looks in film, from Leonardo DiCaprio’s duds in The Wolf of Wall Street, Kevin Costner’s 1930s trench in The Untouchables, Christian Bale’s power suits as both Patrick Bateman and Bruce Wayne, Brad Pitt’s white tux in Inglourious Basterds, Jessica Chastain’s camel hair coat in A Most Violent Year, and the fang-like shirt collars in Goodfellas.
Off camera as well, Hollywood thrilled to his designs, as Armani suits became the wardrobe of Hollywood, from agents to studio heads to stars. This was rarely more apparent that at the Academy Awards. Before Armani, the Oscars red carpet was a parade of ballgowns and beaded fluff. The couturier changed everything. The 1990 Academy Awards, notably, doubled as an Armani showcase, with five attendees donning his designs, namely Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Jessica Lange and Jessica Tandy. At the 2025 Oscars, both best actress nominee Demi Moore and best actor winner Adrien Brody wore Armani.
Once we saw Annette Bening, Foster and Pfeiffer in his pared down eveningwear, the Oscars needle veered toward European designers, where it’s stayed ever since. Most recently, his muse was Cate Blanchett, whom he dressed for many of her major awards triumphs. Lady Gaga was another favorite.
Armani had a wider range than most designers before him. As astute a businessman as he was a designer, he created Armani hotels, wildly successful fragrances, eyewear, cosmetics. His personal wealth skyrocketed to $12.1 billion dollars, according to Forbes. In a luxury industry almost entirely controlled by gargantuan conglomerates like LVMH and Kering, Armani was a rare holdout, managing to retain its independence a private company.
In its statement, the fashion house announced that visitations to Armani’s funeral chamber in Milan, at Via Bergognone 59, will be permitted on Saturday, Sept. 8, and Sunday, Sept 7th, and will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The funeral will be held privately.
Source link
