Giorgio Armani
Italian, 1934 - 2025
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.
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