Legendary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who made the idea of understated elegance into a multibillion-dollar fashion empire, has passed away, Armani Group announced on Thursday. He was 91.
Armani passed away at home in Milan on Thursday, his fashion house said in an Instagram post. During the Spring-Summer 2026 menswear previews in June 2025, Armani, one of the most well-known brands and faces in the world of fashion, missed Milan Fashion Week for the first time to recuperate from an undisclosed illness. During the Milan Fashion Week this month, he was planning a celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of his eponymous fashion house.
Over the course of his decades-long career, the designer is known for elevating Hollywood’s red carpets and creating quintessentially Italian aesthetic in his clothes.
Beginning with an unlined jacket, a basic pair of trousers, and an urban colour palette, Armani introduced Italian ready-to-wear fashion to the world in the late 1970s. The fashion house has been fuelled by this instantly recognisable relaxed silhouette for 50 years.
Armani dressed the rich and famous in timeless tailored styles, using incredibly soft fabrics and muted tones, for everything from the executive office to Hollywood. On award season red carpets, his dapper black-tie ensembles and glistening evening gowns frequently stole the spotlight.
Armani was one of the top 200 billionaires in the world at the time of his death, having built an empire worth over $10 billion that covered clothing and accessories, home furnishings, perfumes, cosmetics, books, flowers, and even chocolates in addition to apparel, according to Forbes.
In addition, the designer owned his own basketball team, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, also known as Olympia Milano, as well as several nightclubs, clubs, and restaurants. Since 1998, Armani has developed more than 20 restaurants from Milan to Tokyo. In 2009, the company opened a hotel in Dubai, and in 2010, it opened another hotel in Milan.
Giorgio Armani is credited with creating Armani style, which includes his signature jeans and t-shirts, his minimalist private home décor, and his penetrating blue eyes framed in a permanent tan and early-age silver hair.
Armani’s fashion philosophy was one of easygoing elegance where attention to detail made the difference.
“I design for real people. There is no virtue whatsoever in creating clothes and accessories that are not practical,” he said when asked to identify his clientele.
During a conversation, the designer’s charming smile and elegantly polite demeanour concealed a tough businessman who was able to transform artistic ability into a fashion empire valued at over $10 billion. Re Giorgio, or King Giorgio as the Italians called him, was always his own boss and never merged or sold.
Before being introduced to the world of fashion through a part-time position as a window decorator in a Milan department store, Armani, who was born on July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, a tiny town south of Milan, had dreams of becoming a doctor.
To launch their own menswear ready-to-wear brand, Armani and his partner Sergio Galeotti sold their Volkswagen for $10,000 in 1975. A year later came womenswear.
The liningless sports jacket, which was introduced in the late 1970s and immediately became popular from Hollywood to Wall Street, served as a symbol of his style. The designer paired to the jacket and a basic t-shirt as “the alpha and omega of the fashion alphabet.”
Soon, the rich man’s closet had to have the Armani suit. Additionally, the pantsuit’s debut in the executive workspace was practically revolutionary for women. With its tailored pants and shoulder-padded jacket, it was dubbed the “power suit” and became the hallmark of the emerging class of businesswomen in the 1980s.
Armani’s fundamental beige and grey palette would be softened throughout time with delicate details, luxurious fabrics, and more vibrant hues. Some critics referred to his attire as “androgynous” since he insisted on wearing jackets and pants.
Armani’s Hollywood debut was actor Richard Gere in the 1980’s classic film “American Gigolo.” Gere, who was known as “Geeorgeeo” on the glam set, became America’s new favourite heartthrob while wearing Armani.
Because of his Hollywood connections, he has wardrobe credits in more than 200 films and was inducted into Rodeo Drive’s “Walk of Fame” in 2003.
With elegant suits for the men and glistening gowns for the women, Oscar night was always a glamorous affair. Best actress nominee Anne Hathaway strutted the red carpet in a sparkling white strapless evening gown from Armani’s most recent Prive couture collection, while 2009 best actor winner Sean Penn picked up his award wearing a black-on-black Armani outfit.
Brad Pitt, Sofia Loren, George Clooney, and Jodie Foster were among his other ardent fans. His 2009 underwear ad campaign included David and Victoria Beckham.
Armani style had such a profound effect on people’s attitudes towards fashion and how they dressed that a retrospective of Armani’s first 25 years in the industry was held at the Guggenheim museum in New York in 2000.
Regarding his endeavours, Armani remarked, “I love things that age well, things that don’t date and become living examples of the absolute best.”
Armani had previously stated that he was considering his niece Silvana Armani, who serves as the head for womenswear, and his long-time head of menswear, Leo Dell’Orco, as potential successors.