HE was a pioneer of fashion who empowered women to wear suits in the boardroom and dressed Hollywood’s elite.
Tributes last night poured in for style icon Giorgio Armani, who died “peacefully, surrounded by loved ones” yesterday, aged 91.
21
21
21
The designer, known for his stunning gowns and relaxed tailoring, was responsible for the Eighties female “power suit” with its padded shoulders and sharply creased trousers.
He was also a favourite among celebs including Beyonce, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Lady Gaga and Victoria Beckham.
Princess Diana also championed the Italian by wearing a shirt and Armani chinos when she famously walked through a live minefield in Angola in 1997 to highlight a Red Cross campaign.
Billionaire Armani died just weeks ahead of a planned 50th anniversary celebration of his work, earmarked for Milan Fashion Week.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Donatella Versace, sister of Armani’s long-time fashion rival Gianni, led tributes to the designer.
‘Remembered forever’
Meloni wrote on social media: “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.”
Donatella said on Instagram: “The world lost a giant today. He made history and will be remembered forever.”
Meanwhile, actor Russell Crowe said he adored Armani as a friend and had planned to meet up with him in Milan later this month.
The Oscar winner wrote on X: “So many significant moments in my life — awards, wedding, Wimbledon . . . all in Armani.”
Known as Re Giorgio — King Giorgio — Armani was synonymous with Italian flair and is credited for giving working women in the Eighties the confidence to wear suits to the office for the first time.
The design guru would later say he created for the “public, not the fashion industry”.
He also said: “Style for me is a good that can be applied to everything. I’ve always thought fashion is much more than clothes — it is a way of being.
“I love things that age well, things that don’t date and become living examples of the absolute best.”
His androgynous style was also favoured on the red carpet by stars such as Julia Roberts, who turned up in a menswear-inspired suit to the 1990 Golden Globes, where she won Best Supporting Actress for Steel Magnolias.
21
21
21
21
And when Jodie Foster picked up an Oscar in 1992 for The Silence Of The Lambs, the designer dressed her in a white tuxedo, glittering trousers and satin gloves.
He later said: “It was fun putting an actress in a traditionally male style at an event where women usually wear dramatic and often overblown evening gowns.”
He also designed Katie Holmes’ wedding dress when she tied the knot with now ex Tom Cruise in 2006, as well as creating Princess Charlene of Monaco’s stunning off-the-shoulder number when she married Prince Albert in 2011.
Armani enjoyed collaborations with chart stars Beyonce and Lady Gaga, who pushed him out of his comfort zone to come up with a unique dress for the 2010 Grammy Awards.
Victoria Beckham wore Armani to the Met Gala in 2008 and she and husband David fronted his underwear campaign the following year.
Other long-time devotees include George Clooney, Sophia Loren, Jennifer Lopez, Brad Pitt and Anne Hathaway, along with Nicole Kidman, Kate Middleton, Cindy Crawford and, a host of top footballers.
Born in the small town of Piacenza, south of Milan, in July 1934, Giorgio Armani wanted to be a doctor before he was inspired by a part- time job as a window dresser in a department store.
In 1975, he and partner Sergio Galeotti, who died in 1985, sold their Volkswagen Beetle for £8,600 to start a fashion label.
Succession plan
They got their big break with a lining-free sports jacket which became an instant hit in Hollywood.
In 1978, Diane Keaton became the first actress to wear Armani to the Oscars when she won Best Actress for her role in Annie Hall.
And the 1980 film American Gigolo further boosted Armani by featuring his clothes as he helped launch actor Richard Gere.
Armani went on to create wardrobes in more than 200 films. But it was the introduction of his womenswear that proved revolutionary.
In the Eighties, London’s City district was full of women dressed in his power suits, complete with their famous shoulder pads.
Armani not only had a flair for fashion but a business sense that led to a £10.3billion fortune, according to Forbes, thanks to his ready-to-wear brand Emporio Armani and sidelines in accessories, home furnishings, perfume, books, flowers and even chocolates.
He also owned bars, clubs, restaurants and his own Italian basketball team, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, known as Olimpia Milano. He had homes in Milan, St Tropez and on an island off the coast of Sicily.
But he never forgot his modest roots. Armani was involved in charitable work and gave huge amounts to organisations involved in children’s welfare, was a supporter of the fight against Aids and, in 2002, was named a United Nations goodwill ambassador for refugees.
21
21
21
21
He kept working until he died, and retained strict control over his business empire, as creative director until his death.
But the fashion legend had been ill for some time and in June was forced to miss his Milan runway shows for the first time in five decades.
Because he had no children, Armani spent years creating a robust succession plan. According to company reports, the Armani group will now be divided among his heirs: Sister Rosanna, two nieces, one nephew, long-time collaborator Pantaleo Dell’Orco and a charitable foundation.
He is understood to have left instructions that the brand must pursue “essential modern, elegant and unostentatious style with attention to detail and wearability”.
‘ALL CAN LOOK LIKE A STAR’
By Dylan Jones former GQ Editor
GIORGIO ARMANI didn’t just make actors look like movie stars, he made everyone look like a movie star.
He became synonymous with Hollywood after his clothes were featured prominently in American Gigolo, especially a scene where Richard Gere chooses which look to wear for a date.
Armani brought sleek, unstructured tailoring to Hollywood and, as soon as he did, everyone wanted it – both men and women.
Actresses loved his sophisticated cocktail party dresses but it was the men who really enjoyed his clothes. Before, they tended to look incredibly formal when they dressed up.
Then Armani gave them a Continental edge, making them look Italian without looking TOO Italian. This was his magic trick, his genius – making men look sexy and grown up without looking formal and stuck up.
Look at any contemporary US film of the Eighties and you will see the Armani look.
Miami Vice wouldn’t have happened without Giorgio.
Neither would any film in which a leading man was meant to look powerful but sensitive, rich but caring, and sexy without looking TOO sexy.
When I was editor of GQ, we would regularly feature Armani’s clothes.
He was one of our biggest advertisers and our readers genuinely loved his gear.
British men from all walks of life knew that, by wearing his stuff, they could look American, Italian, Continental, rich, sexy, and quite possibly all of the above.
The first time I met him, I made sure I was wearing Armani head to toe. He walked into the room, shook my hand then looked me up and down.
“You look very Armani,” he said, in his faltering English (he could always speak more English than people thought he could). “We can do business.”
I knew him well for more than 30 years and enjoyed doing business with him and his team.
I last saw him at the final night of one of his menswear shows in Milan a few seasons ago.
Sensing it might be the last time I would meet him (he had been frail for some time), I wore an Armani jacket.
When he saw it he said, “You still look very Armani.”
He once revealed his biggest regret in life was “spending too many hours working and not enough time with my friends and family”.
And in his final interview last weekend, he said: “My greatest weakness is that I am in control of everything.”
Milan is set to open a funeral chamber for well-wishers to pay their respects before the designer is laid to rest in private.
He once said he would like to be remembered “as a sincere man — I say what I mean”.
Now, as the world mourns the fashion icon, he will be remembered for so much more than that.
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
