GIORGIO ARMANI

1934–

Italian designer Giorgio Armani is the founder, CEO, and chief designer of the luxury fashion house that bears his name. For over four decades, he has grown it into a global fashion empire and made a significant impact on the evolution of modern clothing.

Born in 1934, Giorgio Armani originally intended to become a doctor but gave up his medical degree at the University of Milan in 1953 to join the Italian army. He became a buyer for a Milan department store in 1957 and by 1964 had decided to pursue a career in fashion design. Armani gained experience in the fashion house of Nino Cerruti where, despite his lack of formal training, he designed a line of menswear. His work was soon in demand, and in 1970 he left Cerruti and set up as a freelance fashion designer and consultant. With friend and business partner Sergio Galeotti, Armani started his own company, Giorgio Armani S.p.A., in 1975, and launched his own label of ready-to-wear clothes for men and women.

Global reach

Armani founded the Giorgio Armani Corporation in the US in 1979, to produce clothes for the American market. With his innovative approach to styling, he transformed the fashion industry, softening the edge of men’s clothing and modernizing clothes for women. In 1980, he designed the clothes worn by actor Richard Gere in American Gigolo. This made him popular in Hollywood and set the trend for celebrities to be dressed by fashion houses. Armani expanded his range, creating perfumes and launching Emporio Armani, a lower-cost line of clothes. With around 3,000 outlets worldwide, Armani retains total control of his privately owned company.

Armani’s spring/summer men’s collection in 2019 continued to highlight his talent for relaxed tailoring.