Giorgio Armani, the Italian designer who turned the concept of understated elegance into a multibillion-dollar fashion empire, has died, his fashion house confirmed. He was 91.
Armani died at home, the fashion house said.
The artist created some of the best dresses for Hollywood stars.
Cate Blanchett, Sharon Stone, Juliette Binoche, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie are just some of the thousands of names.
Armani, one of the most recognizable names and faces in the global fashion industry, missed Milan Fashion Week in June 2025 for the first time during the previews of Spring-Summer 2026 menswear to recover from an undisclosed condition. He was planning a major event to celebrate 50 years of his signature Giorgio Armani fashion house during Milan Fashion Week this month.
Giorgio Armani, the Italian designer who turned the concept of understated elegance into a multibillion-dollar fashion empire, has died, his fashion house confirmed. He was 91. Armani died at home, the fashion house said. Seen in 2000
Angelina Jolie in Giorgio Armani at the Golden Globe awards on January 18, 1998 in Los Angeles
Here Jolie wore an Armani minidress at the Salt premiere in LA in 2010
Starting with an unlined jacket, a simple pair of pants and an urban palette, Armani put Italian ready-to-wear style on the international fashion map in the late 1970s, creating an instantly recognizable relaxed silhouette that has propelled the fashion house for half a century.
From the executive office to the Hollywood screen, Armani dressed the rich and famous in classic tailored styles, fashioned in super-soft fabrics and muted tones. His handsome black tie outfits and glittering evening gowns often stole the show on award season red carpets.
At the time of his death, Armani had put together an empire worth over $10 billion, which along with clothing included accessories, home furnishings, perfumes, cosmetics, books, flowers and even chocolates, ranking him in the world´s top 200 billionaires, according to Forbes.
The designer also owned several bars, clubs, restaurants and his own basketball team EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, better known as Olympia Milano. Armani opened more than than 20 restaurants from Milan to Tokyo since 1998, and two hotels, one in Dubai in 2009 and another in Milan, in 2010.
Gwyneth Paltrow in a see-through Armani dress in 1998 at the New York City premiere of Shakespeare in Love
Armani and Julia Roberts poses on the red carpet upon arrival at The Fashion Awards 2019 in London on December 2, 2019
Roberts wore his suit at the 47th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 20, 1990
And she was in Armani for the Oscars in the 2000s
Armani, Julia Roberts and George Clooney attend THE COSTUME INSTITUTE GALA: SUPERHEROES at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC on May 5, 2008
Armani style began with Giorgio Armani himself, from the penetrating blue eyes framed in a permanent tan and early-age shock of silver hair, to the trademark jeans and t-shirt work clothes and the minimalist decoration of his private homes.
Armani´s fashion vision was that 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 liked to say when asked to identify his clientele.
In conversation, the designer´s disarming smile and exquisitely mild manners belied the tough businessman underneath, who was able to turn creative talent into a fashion empire worth over $10 billion. Never a merger nor a sale, Re Giorgio (King George) as the Italians call him, was always his own boss.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes pose together at Castello Odescalchi on their wedding day November 18, 2006 in Bracciano, near Rome, Italy
Holmes arrives to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala, Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, in 2008 in Armani
Diane Keaton in Armani at the 50th Oscars in 1978
Melissa Gilbert and Armani 1980 Melissa Gilbert
Armani with Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and George Clooney
Born July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, a small town south of Milan, Armani dreamed of becoming a doctor before a part-time job as a window decorator in a Milan department store opened his eyes to the world of fashion.
In 1975, Armani and his partner Sergio Galeotti sold their Volkswagen for $10,000 to start up their own menswear ready-to-wear label. Womenswear followed a year later.
The symbol of his new style was the liningless sports jacket, which was launched in the late 1970s and became an instant success from Hollywood to Wall Street. The designer paired the jacket with a simple t-shirt, an item of clothing he termed ‘the alpha and omega of the fashion alphabet.’
Lady Gaga wore Armani in 2010 in LA
Anne Hathaway in Armani at the 81st Annual Academy Awards held at The Kodak Theatre on February 22, 2009
Beyonce Knowles in Armani at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles
The artist with the singer at the Fashion Rocks show in London in 2003
Charleen Weiss in Armani at La Grazia red carpet at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival at Sala Grande on August 27
The Armani suit soon became a must in the closet of the well-heeled man. And for women, the introduction of the pantsuit in the executive workroom was all but revolutionary. Dubbed the ‘power suit’ with its shoulder-padded jacket and man-tailored trousers, it became the trademark of the rising class of businesswomen in the 1980s.
Over the years Armani would soften the look with delicate detailing, luxurious fabrics and brighter shades for his basic beige and gray palette. His insistence on pants and jackets led some critics to label his fashion ‘androgynous.’
The 1980 film classic ‘American Gigolo’ launched both Armani and actor Richard Gere on their Hollywood careers. Dressed in Armani, Gere became America´s new favorite heart throb, and ‘Geeorgeeo’ as they called him, the glam set´s most popular designer.
The designer with Cate Blanchett at The Fashion Awards 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall on December 2, 2019 in London
The designer with Penelope Cruz in Los Angeles
The Hollywood connection earned him wardrobe film credits in over 200 films, and in 2003 a place on Rodeo Drive´s ‘Walk of Fame.’
Oscar night always sparkled, with smart suiting for the men, and glittering gowns for the ladies. The 2009 best actor winner Sean Penn picked up his statue in a black-on-black Armani outfit, while best actress nominee Anne Hathaway walked the red carpet in a shimmering white strapless evening gown from Armani´s latest Prive couture collection.
Other longtime devotees included Jodie Foster, George Clooney, Sofia Loren and Brad Pitt. David and Victoria Beckham were the ‘face’ of his 2009 underwear ad campaign.
So significant was the impact of Armani style, not only on how people dressed but how they approached fashion, that in 2000 New York´s Guggenheim museum presented a retrospective of Armani´s first 25 years in fashion.
‘I love things that age well, things that don´t date and become living examples of the absolute best,’ Armani said of his efforts.
Hilary Swank poses with Armani after the Giorgio Armani Prive Spring/Summer 2008 Haute Couture Collection Show January 21, 2008 in Paris
Her dress was black and flirty with beading as she added strappy heels
Today, the Armani empire has an army of more than 9,000 employees, with women comprising half of the executive suite, along with seven industrial hubs and over 600 stores worldwide, according to figures released in 2023. Along with clothes and accessories, the company produces perfumes, cosmetics and home furnishings, as well as selling its own candy, flowers and even books. The designer opened his fifth multi-brand store on New York´s fashionable Fifth Avenue in February 2009.
In the realm of fashion hobbies, Armani owned several bars, restaurants and clubs, as well as the basketball team. Recreation time was spent in getaways in Broni in the countryside near Milan, the isle of Pantelleria off Sicily and St. Tropez on the French Riviera. Each home bore the trademark of Armani design: bare walls, important pieces, few knickknacks.
Like many of his colleagues, Armani tried to give back some of the fame and fortune he amassed during the heyday of the ‘moda Milanese’ which put Italian ready-to-wear at the center of the world´s fashion map at the turn of the millennium. Personally involved in several charity organizations devoted to children and a staunch supporter of the battle against AIDS, in 2002 Armani was named a U.N. goodwill ambassador for refugees.
Armani acknowledged the audience during One Night Only series in Dubai on October 26, 2021
Galeotti died in 1985. Armani had no children but was very close to his niece Roberta, daughter of his late brother Sergio. She abandoned a budding film career to become his director of public relations, and often represented her uncle, who wasn´t much of a party-goer, at social events. In later years she was a key go-between with the celebrity world.
In 2006, she orchestrated the top-billed wedding of actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in a medieval castle outside Rome, while Uncle Giorgio designed the attire for both bride and groom.
Armani had indicated that as he considered succession he was looking toward his longtime head of menswear Leo Dell´Orco and his niece Silvana Armani, who fills the same role for womenswear.