Giorgio Armani, the Italian Fashion Maestro, Dies at 91

Giorgio Armani, the prolific Italian designer whose creations changed the fashion landscape and dazzled on Hollywood red carpets, has died, the Armani Group announced on Thursday. He was 91.

“Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the brand said in a statement.

“In this company, we have always felt like part of a family,” read a statement from Armani’s family and employees, which was shared by the group. “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.”

In addition to being a formidable businessman, Armani is credited with breathing new life into menswear and creating a new system of dressing for women, marrying Italian leggerezza with worldly references (China was a frequent reference point) and becoming synonymous with timeless elegance. “Elegance is not about being noticed, it’s about being remembered,” the designer was famously quoted as saying. His designs made their way onto Hollywood’s biggest stars; the brand has dressed everyone from Richard Gare in American Gigolo, which turned Armani’s designs into a status symbol, to Julia Roberts in her iconic 1990 Golden Globes suit. Cate Blanchett is a longtime friend of the house, most recently sporting Armani at this summer’s Venice Film Festival, as is Jodi Foster, who rejected the frilly frocks of the early ’90s and found a kindred spirit in the designer who would come to define the Oscar winner’s look.

Armani was born in 1934, in an Italian town called Piacenza, about an hour outside of Milan. Armani dipped his toes into the fashion world in 1957 when he snagged a job as a window dresser at La Rinascente, the famed department store in Milan; previously, the designer had been on track to become a doctor. He fully immersed himself in clothing in 1964, when, as a buyer at the department store, designer Nino Cerutti hired Armani to design menswear.

During his time with Cerutti, Armani discovered the power of a deconstructed jacket, an idea that would later become a hallmark of his creations. The Italian also met architect Sergio Galeotti, who encouraged Armani to begin his own line. The duo, who would become partners in business and life, went on to form Giorgio Armani, the brand, in 1975. His first menswear and womenswear collection introduced a new, more relaxed form of power suiting, quickly making its way into Barneys New York in 1976.

With that DNA firmly established, countless brands would go on to be launched, establishing the Armani empire. Over the decades, he debuted the Emporio Armani, Armani Exchange, and Armani Jeans lines, as well as a home décor line and fragrance collection. The Armani name has even created its own line of branded residences via its interior design studio, Armani/Casa, one of which is headed to South Florida. Armani himself has also made his way into the superyacht space, designing two stunning vessels for the Italian Sea Group. Just last week, Armani announced the acquisition of La Capannina di Franceschi night club in Forte dei Marmi, a ’60s hotspot where Armani and Galeotti met.

It’s hard to fathom Fashion Month without the man himself though the industry experienced just that in June, when Mr. Armani missed his first bow in his career. Still, 2025 has a special levity to it. This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the Armani brand, a milestone that was to be rung in at Milan Fashion Week this year, according to CNN, in a celebration of style. Armani’s latest capsule collection, “That’s So Armani,” also pays homage to his signature designs and  an exhibition “Giorgio Armani Privé 2005–2025: Twenty Years of Haute Couture” runs until December 28, 2025, at Armani/Silos, Milan.

As for who will take over Armani’s conglomerate, that remains to be seen. The Armani Group was valued somewhere between $9 billion and nearly $12 billion in 2024, according to Bloomberg.