Date: born 1934

Biography: Armani’s understated yet innovative style transformed fashion in the 1970s. “Even in a country where tailors are supreme, Giorgio Armani is known as a master tailor,” pronounced the New York Times fashion writer Bernadine Morris in 1980. “To the obligatory mastery of cut, construction and coloring, he has added style and vision.” The relaxed quality of Armani’s suits provided a familiar, personalized feeling for their wearers, and they were meticulously crafted—despite being sold off-the-rack. Armani’s work is often defined as classic and minimal, but his success is based on his ability to reinterpret those concepts. Giorgio Armani was born in Piacenza, Italy, in 1934. Although he was never formally trained in fashion, his innate understanding of clothing was honed by his early work in the industry—first as a buyer for the upscale Italian retailer La Rinascente, then as a designer for textile and clothing manufacturer Nino Cerruti. In 1975, Armani founded his own label in Milan, and in October of that year showed his first menswear collection. The designer introduced his unstructured men’s suits in 1976—an innovation that quickly established his importance to contemporary fashion. By removing stiff interlinings and modifying standard proportions, Armani created what he described as “a light jacket, just as comfortable as a shirt, sensual even in its construction.” His carefully selected color palette was—and remains—subtle and neutral, what he describes as “the colors of dawn and dusk.” Armani launched a line of women’s clothes that same year, which often utilized the same look and construction techniques as the men’s styles. Armani’s importance to the U.S. fashion market was firmly established in 1980, when actor Richard Gere wore more than thirty of the designer’s suits in the film American Gigolo. Over the course of the decade, Armani expanded his empire, including the introduction of lines for junior’s clothing, accessories, and swimwear. He continues to design clothes that remain true to his minimalist origins, but his more recent endeavors into exotic, embellished designs—described by fashion journalist Suzy Menkes as “symbols of escape from everyday reality”— have proven equally successful.