Legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died, his company has said.
The Italian-born billionaire, who was 91, died at home surrounded by his family on Thursday.
“With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force:
Giorgio Armani,” his fashion house said in a statement.
“Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones.
“Indefatigable to the end, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections, and the many ongoing and future projects.”
A funeral chamber will be set up in Milan on Saturday and Sunday, it added, which will be followed by a private ceremony on an unspecified date.
Armani did not appear at his runway shows in Milan for the first time ever in June as he was recovering from an unknown illness.
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Posing with models at the end of his women’s 2019 spring-summer collection show in Milan in 2018. Pic: AP
Italy’s President Giorgia Meloni was among the first to pay tribute to him.
“Giorgio Armani leaves us at 91 years old,” she wrote in a statement on X. “With his elegance, sobriety, and creativity, he was able to bring luster to Italian fashion and inspire the entire world. An icon, a tireless worker, a symbol of the best of Italy. Thank you for everything.”
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At the Royal Academy in London in 2003. Pic: Reuters
King Giorgio
Born in the small northern Italian town of Piacenza in July 1934, Armani originally wanted to be a doctor but changed his mind after a part-time job as a window cleaner at a department store in Milan exposed him to fashion for the first time.
As one of the most influential designers of the 20th century, he is often accredited with spearheading red carpet fashion and was planning a major event during Milan Fashion Week this month to mark 50 years of his brand.
He put Italian ready-to-wear style on the map in the late 1970s with his signature ‘Armani suit’ before adapting its classic style for women with the launch of the female ‘power suit’ in the 1980s.
He also dressed Hollywood and music stars, including Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, and Lady Gaga.
Armani, or Re Giorgio (King Giorgio) as he was widely known, worked on more than 200 films, most notably earlier in his career on American Gigolo with Richard Gere in 1980.
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With Actors Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton in 2003. Pic: Reuters
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With Robert De Niro in Milan in 2000. Pic: Reuters
With an empire of more than £7.44bn at the time of his death, his work expanded beyond clothes to home furnishings, perfumes, books, flowers, bars, clubs, and restaurants.
He also owned the basketball team EA7 Armani Milan, better known as Olympia Milano.
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