The Italian fashion designer and billionaire brand owner Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91.
He was the archetype of Italian style and elegance, reimagining men’s and women’s suits for a modern audience.
Armani, which began as a fashion company, expanded into beauty, fragrance, music, sport and even luxury hotels, while as a revered businessman, his company brought more than £2bn a year.
Donatella Versace paid tribute to the late designer on her Instagram page, posting a picture of him, saying: “The world lost a giant today, he made history and will be remembered forever.”
In a statement on the brand’s Instagram page, it said Armani ” worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections and the many ongoing future projects”.
It also said he was “indefatigable to the end” and “driven by relentless curiosity and a deep attention to the present and to people”.
The designer was seen as a pioneer in many ways, elevating red carpet fashion to what we see today.
He was also the first designer to ban underweight models from the runway, after the death of model Ana Carolina Reston in 2006 from anorexia nervosa.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also paid tribute, saying: “With his elegance, sobriety, and creativity, he was able to bring lustre to Italian fashion and inspire the entire world.
“An icon, a tireless worker, a symbol of the best of Italy. Thank you for everything.”
In a profile in The Financial Times, in one of the designer’s last interviews, Alexander Fury wrote: “He put women into a uniform of suits just as radical as Chanel’s, creating forceful, confident clothing that helped to power the working woman’s social revolution of the 1980s.
“By contrast, he relaxed menswear, deconstructing traditional tailoring in a manner that has affected how just about every suit in the world is made.”
A friend of Hollywood, he understood the power of publicity and dressed some of its biggest stars for the red carpet including for the Oscars – including Zendaya, Cate Blanchett and Julia Roberts.
He also designed stage outfits for Lady Gaga and various costumes for films American Gigolo and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Even as he entered his 10th decade, Armani continued to present new collections on the French and Italian catwalks.
His March 2025 show was designed to make a statement on global politics, with him stating that he “wanted to imagine new harmony” as he believed “that is what we all need”.
Concern over his health was first expressed in June this year, when he missed Milan fashion week.
He directed a couture show in Paris in July 2025, but did this remotely from his home in Milan.
Armani was described as a “true gentleman” and “titan of the industry” by Vogue’s Laura Ingham, who paid tribute to the late designer.
She added: “If you don’t know anything about fashion, you’ll still know Giorgio Armani. Mr. Armani built a house synonymous with timeless Italian elegance and enduring style”.
Referencing his classic style, which included “refined silhouettes” and “immaculate tailoring”, she concluded that “his legacy is woven not only into fashions past and present but will continue to shape its future for generations to come”.
Starting his career in medicine, he moved to fashion in the 1960s and set up his own luxury label in 1975 alongside his late partner Sergio Galeotti.
He faced much criticism during his career, including in 2015 when he said a gay man “does not need to dress homosexual”.
His company also reached a financial settlement with Italian tax authorities over offshore subsidiaries in 2014, though no wrongdoing was admitted.
Away from fashion, he was a keen sports fan and supported Serie A football team Inter Milan and owned the Olimpia Milano basketball team.
The fashion brand also had a partnership with the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team, with one of their drivers, Charles Leclerc writing on Instagram that it was “a great honour to have had the chance to meet and work with such an amazing person”.
Armani was also presented with the French Legion of Honour and Italian Order of Merit for Labour for his work in fashion.
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Source: Annabel Rackham – BBC
