Young Giorgio with his brother and a family friend
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani with his mother and siblings
College/University
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
Career
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
1995
USA
Giorgio Armani at a private party, United States, circa 1995. (Photo by Rose Hartman)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
1996
Naomi Campbell and Italian fashion designer, Giorgio Armani, at a private party, circa 1996. (Photo by Rose Hartman)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2014
Milan, Italy
Giorgio Armani walks the runway during the Giorgio Armani - show as part of Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2015 on September 20, 2014, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Venturelli)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2014
Milan, Italy
Giorgio Armani attends the Emporio Armani show as a part of Milan Fashion Week Menswear Autumn/Winter 2014 on January 13, 2014, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2014
Paris, France
Giorgio Armani attends the Giorgio Armani Prive show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014 on January 21, 2014, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2014
Paris, France
Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause of the audience after the Giorgio Armani Prive show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014 on January 21, 2014, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2015
Paris, France
Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause of the audience after his show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2015 on January 27, 2015, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2015
Milan, Italy
Sophia Loren and Giorgio Armani attend the Giorgio Armani show during the Milan Fashion Week SpTrussardiring/Summer 2016 on September 28, 2015, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2017
Milan, Italy
Giorgio Armani is seen on the runway at the Emporio Armani show during Milan Men's Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on January 14, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2017
Milan, Italy
Giorgio Armani seen backstage ahead of the Yoshio Kubo / Moto Guo / Consistence show during Milan Men's Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on January 17, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Tristan Fewings)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2017
Milan, Italy
Giorgio Armani seen backstage ahead of the Yoshio Kubo / Moto Guo / Consistence show during Milan Men's Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on January 17, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Tristan Fewing)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2017
Milan, Italy
Giorgio Armani and models seen backstage ahead of the Yoshio Kubo / Moto Guo / Consistence show during Milan Men's Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on January 17, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Tristan Fewings)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2017
Paris, France
Giorgio Armani is seen on the runway during the Giorgio Armani Prive Spring Summer 2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 24, 2017, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2017
London, England, UK
Giorgio Armani and models are seen on the runway during the finale of the Emporio Armani show at London Fashion Week in September 2017 on September 17, 2017, in London, England. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2017
Milan, Italy
Giorgio Armani and Lauren Hutton attend the Green Carpet Fashion Awards Italia 2017 during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2018 on September 24, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2018
Paris, France
Giorgio Armani walks the runway during the Giorgio Armani Prive Haute Couture Fall Winter 2018/2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 3, 2018, in Paris, France. (Photo by Peter White)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2019
Paris, France
Giorgio Armani during the Giorgio Armani Prive Spring Summer 2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 22, 2019, in Paris, France.
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2019
Paris, France
Giorgio Armani walks the runway during the finale of Giorgio Armani Prive Spring Summer 2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 22, 2019, in Paris, France. (Photo by Peter White)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2019
Milan, Italy
Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause of the public after the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019/20 on February 23, 2019, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2019
Milan, Italy
Giorgio Armani walks the runway at the Giorgio Armani fashion show during the Milan Men's Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on June 17, 2019, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2019
Paris, France
Giorgio Armani walks the runway during the Giorgio Armani Prive Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2019 2020 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 02, 2019, in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2019
Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AP, United Kingdom
Giorgio Armani poses backstage stage during The Fashion Awards 2019 held at Royal Albert Hall on December 2, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2019
Via Bergognone, 59, 20144 Milano MI, Italy
Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause of the public after the Giorgio Armani Pre-Fall 2020/2021 at Armani Theatre on November 14, 2019, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto)
Gallery of Giorgio Armani
2019
Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AP, United Kingdom
Giorgio Armani and Julia Roberts arrive at The Fashion Awards 2019 held at Royal Albert Hall on December 02, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis)
Giorgio Armani walks the runway during the Giorgio Armani - show as part of Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2015 on September 20, 2014, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Venturelli)
Giorgio Armani attends the Emporio Armani show as a part of Milan Fashion Week Menswear Autumn/Winter 2014 on January 13, 2014, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule)
Giorgio Armani attends the Giorgio Armani Prive show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014 on January 21, 2014, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause of the audience after the Giorgio Armani Prive show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014 on January 21, 2014, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause of the audience after his show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2015 on January 27, 2015, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Sophia Loren and Giorgio Armani attend the Giorgio Armani show during the Milan Fashion Week SpTrussardiring/Summer 2016 on September 28, 2015, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho)
Giorgio Armani is seen on the runway at the Emporio Armani show during Milan Men's Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on January 14, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule)
Giorgio Armani seen backstage ahead of the Yoshio Kubo / Moto Guo / Consistence show during Milan Men's Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on January 17, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Tristan Fewings)
Giorgio Armani seen backstage ahead of the Yoshio Kubo / Moto Guo / Consistence show during Milan Men's Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on January 17, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Tristan Fewing)
Giorgio Armani and models seen backstage ahead of the Yoshio Kubo / Moto Guo / Consistence show during Milan Men's Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on January 17, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Tristan Fewings)
Giorgio Armani is seen on the runway during the Giorgio Armani Prive Spring Summer 2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 24, 2017, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Giorgio Armani and models are seen on the runway during the finale of the Emporio Armani show at London Fashion Week in September 2017 on September 17, 2017, in London, England. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto)
Giorgio Armani and Lauren Hutton attend the Green Carpet Fashion Awards Italia 2017 during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2018 on September 24, 2017, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule)
Giorgio Armani walks the runway during the Giorgio Armani Prive Haute Couture Fall Winter 2018/2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 3, 2018, in Paris, France. (Photo by Peter White)
Giorgio Armani walks the runway during the finale of Giorgio Armani Prive Spring Summer 2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 22, 2019, in Paris, France. (Photo by Peter White)
Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause of the public after the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019/20 on February 23, 2019, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto)
Giorgio Armani walks the runway at the Giorgio Armani fashion show during the Milan Men's Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on June 17, 2019, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jacopo Raule)
Giorgio Armani walks the runway during the Giorgio Armani Prive Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2019 2020 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 02, 2019, in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis)
Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AP, United Kingdom
Giorgio Armani poses backstage stage during The Fashion Awards 2019 held at Royal Albert Hall on December 2, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett)
Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause of the public after the Giorgio Armani Pre-Fall 2020/2021 at Armani Theatre on November 14, 2019, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto)
Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AP, United Kingdom
Giorgio Armani and Julia Roberts arrive at The Fashion Awards 2019 held at Royal Albert Hall on December 02, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis)
(This lavish book focuses on the key creations and importa...)
This lavish book focuses on the key creations and important milestones in the history of the celebrated Italian designer and his eponymous fashion house. With personal texts written by Giorgio Armani, the book contains biographical details interwoven with the story of the company.
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer and businessman. He is responsible for the creation of an aesthetic in both menswear and womenswear that had a firm grip on international style in the 1980s. He has designed costumes for more than 100 films like American Gigolo and The Untouchables which established his popularity in Hollywood as well. Armani expanded his empire to include restaurants and hotels.
Background
Giorgio Armani was born on July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Kingdom of Italy, to Maria Raimondi and Ugo Armani. His father was a shipping manager. Born in a humble family, he faced a tough time which was shadowed with aftermaths of the Second World War.
He grew up with his older brother Sergio and younger sister Rosanna in a small town outside of Milan. They experienced the hardships of World War II firsthand. Some of his friends were killed during the Allied bombings. "We were poor and life was tough," he once told. "The cinema in Milan was a refuge - a palace of dreams - and the movie stars seemed so glamorous. I fell in love with the idealized beauty of Hollywood stars."
Education
Giorgio developed an interest in human anatomy from an early age and this motivated him to pursue a medical profession. After he graduated from the Liceo Scientifico Respighi in Piacenza, he enrolled in the Department of Medicine at the University of Milan. Nevertheless, during the third year of his study it turned out that this was not his calling, so he dropped out. The blood he had to see during practice made him feel sick.
After completing his military service, Armani dropped out of university. Beginning in 1957 he worked as a buyer for the Milan department store La Rinascente. After a seven-year stint in that position, he began to pursue a career in fashion design, training in the atelier of Nino Cerruti. With the encouragement of his friend Sergio Galeotti, Armani started to do freelance design work for other companies as well. It was Galeotti who inspired him to open his own office in 1973.
In 1974 Armani launched his own label, which was to become incredibly successful - the biggest-selling line of European design in America. His first designs revolved around the refining of the male jacket, which he believed to be the most important invention in the history of dress, being both versatile and functional and suited to all social occasions. His idea was to instill the relaxation of sports clothing into its tailored lines. He later applied similar notions to womenswear, evolving a new manner of dress for women. He further developed a style for working women with an understated, almost androgynous chic.
Armani and Galeotti became business partners, founding Giorgio Armani S.p.A. in July 1975. The company's first collection - a men's clothing line - debuted that year. Armani launched a women's collection the following year, which received a warm reception. His clothes were revolutionary at the time, introducing a more natural fit and using a subtle color palette.
In these years, Armani designs were very expensive, being made out of the most luxurious materials such as alpaca, cashmere, and suede. To expand his customer base and meet the increasing demands of a fashion-conscious public for clothes with a designer label, he produced a cheaper womenswear range entitled Mani, made out of synthetics so advanced they could not be copied, together with the popular Emporio Armani range of sportswear.
For men, he produced definitive navy blazers, crumpled linen jackets, and leather separates, which he introduced in 1980, and oversized overcoats and raincoats. Impeccably tailored, with faltering cut, easy lines, and subtle textures, patterns, and colors, he introduced twists such as low-slung button placement on double-breasted suits for men and experimental blends of fabrics such as viscose with wool or linen with silk.
While his designs were popular in Europe, Armani didn't make a big splash in America until 1980. His clothes were worn by actor Richard Gere in the film American Gigolo (1980), which helped generate a lot of interest in Armani. He also provided much of the wardrobe for the hit television series Miami Vice (1984-89), starring Don Johnson. Soon, many top Hollywood stars started wearing Armani on the red carpet, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Jodie Foster, and John Travolta, among others.
During the 1980s, wearing Armani became a symbol of success for many business professionals. They especially sought out the brand's "power suits." With demand high, Armani and Galeotti were able to grow the business, opening up Armani stores in Milan. Armani, however, suffered a great personal and professional loss in 1985 when he lost longtime friend and business partner Galeotti to AIDS. While some thought that the business might suffer after Galeotti's death, Armani showed the world that he was just as talented as an executive as he was as a designer.
Armani expanded his operations, opening his first restaurant in 1989. He also bought clothing manufacturer Simint S.p.A. and shares in other businesses. Not even legal troubles could slow down Armani's momentum. He received only a suspended sentence in 1996 after pleading guilty to bribing Italian tax officials in 1989 and 1990.
Over the years Armani continually added new offerings to his company, introducing perfume, accessories, a jeans line, the lower-priced diffusion line Emporio Armani, sportswear, and a limited-edition line of handmade couture dresses. By the end of the 1990s, Armani had over 200 stores worldwide and annual sales of roughly $2 billion. His company continued to add to its product offerings, expanding into the home goods market, and book publishing. In 2005 Armani debuted his first haute couture line. He launched this high-end venture because he liked the challenge.
In 2007 Armani partnered with the electronics giant Samsung to create a luxury LCD (liquid crystal display) television and cellular phone as part of an expansion of his consumer lifestyle product line. That same year his Armani Privé spring/summer-collection fashion show was broadcast worldwide via Microsoft Corporation’s MSN Web portal as well as Cingular cellular phones, making him the first clothing designer to broadcast an haute couture fashion show live on the Internet.
Hotels have become Armani's latest venture. In 2010 he opened his first hotel in Dubai, and another one is expected to open in Milan. It seems that Armani has nearly tapped into every available design opportunity at this point in his career. Armani has also created his own catwalk presentation space, the Teatro Armani, and in 2013, which opened its doors to enable emerging designers such as Stella Jean and Andrea Pompilio to showcase their collections during Milan Fashion Week.
Armani said in 2015 that he had no plans to retire, saying he would continue to be the sole shareholder of his company while he is alive. What is going to happen to his empire when he is no longer alive is a mystery. In 2016, with question marks hanging over the designer's succession planning, Armani announced the formation of a foundation to ensure the stability of company leadership and assets in the future.
(This lavish book focuses on the key creations and importa...)
2015
Views
In 2006, Armani was the first designer to forbid the participation of size zero models in his fashion shows. His position is for a healthy appearance and women of normal weight and shapes. He expressed his firm opinion against anorexia by trying to unite all designers in a unified opinion not to work with models with a body mass index less than 18. The reason for that was the death of the 22-year-old Uruguayan model, Luisel Ramos, who put herself through starvation for 3 months.
Quotations:
"Elegance is not remembered but being remembered."
"There can be nothing without love. No money, no power. Love is very important."
"I don’t have a formula to pass on. I always did it my own way. Even today, I hold my independence close. It’s what’s most precious to me. Passion. Risk. Tenacity. Consistency. This is my professional history."
"A balance between work and life is the key to happiness. I sacrificed my life for my work and if I had a chance I would do the opposite."
"Being famous very often means sacrificing your privacy."
"I design for real people. I think of our customers all the time. There is no virtue whatsoever in creating clothing or accessories that are not practical."
Personality
Armani is a devoted sports aficionado. He is an avid Inter-Milan fan and the president of the Olimpia Milano Basketball Team. He has once dressed the national Italian soccer team in the world cup, 1994. He also twice designed suits for the England national football team and the Chelsea football team. He is a vegetarian, teetotaler, and non-smoker.
Interests
Philosophers & Thinkers
Albert Einstein
Writers
The Citadel by A. J. Cronin, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Artists
Alfred Hitchcock
Sport & Clubs
Olimpia Milano, Inter Milan, basketball, football
Music & Bands
Leonard Cohen
Connections
Armani is a lifelong bachelor who was so busy with his career that he did not have time for a family of his own. He is very close to his siblings and their children. His sister, nieces, and nephews work in his company.
Armani has publicly identified as bisexual. He was in a long relationship with his business partner, the fashion designer Sergio Galeotti.