Giorgio Armani

Early life

Giorgio Armani was born on 11 July 1934 in Piacenza to Ugo Armani, an accountant for a transport company, and Maria Raimondi. He grew up with his older brother Sergio and younger sister Rosanna. Living in poverty during World War II, he was severely burned when an unexploded artillery shell he had been playing with detonated, which also killed one of his close friends. While at secondary school at the Liceo Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, Giorgio Armani aspired to have a career in the army, particularly after reading A. J. Cronin's The Citadel. He enrolled in the department of medicine at the University of Milan. In 1953, after attending for three years, he left and joined the army. Due to his medical educational background, he was assigned to the Military Hospital in Verona, where he attended shows at the Arena. He eventually decided to look for a different career path.

Personal life

Armani had no children. His immediate family included his late elder brother Sergio, his younger sister Rosanna, and three younger relatives: nieces Silvana and Roberta Armani, and nephew Andrea Camerana. He credited Rosanna—once a fashion model and long regarded as his muse—with introducing him to the fashion industry. At the time of his death, Armani's sister, nieces, and nephew were all closely involved in his business empire.

Armani was reportedly in declining health in the months leading up to his death, and was notably absent from Milan Fashion Week in June 2025, marking the first time he did not attend his own runway shows. He died from liver failure at his home in Milan on 4 September 2025 at the age of 91. At the time of his death, Forbes estimated his net worth at $12.1 billion. His public wake was held at the Armani/Teatro in Milan, and was attended by around 15,000 people. On 8 September, the day of his funeral, all Armani stores closed for an afternoon of mourning, including the city of Milan. He was buried in a private ceremony at his family's chapel in Rivalta di Gazzola, Piacenza Province. On 12 September, his two final wills were released, in which he left instructions that included his heirs having to sell an initial 15% minority stake in his businesses, with priority to LVMH, EssilorLuxottica or L’Oreal.

Career

In 1957, after serving in the military for two years, Armani became a window dresser and sales clerk at La Rinascente, a department store in Milan. Also in 1957, at the store, he was responsible for showcasing the earliest garments of the innovative Finnish textiles, clothing, and home furnishings company, Marimekko. He became a seller for the menswear department. In that capacity, he gained valuable experience in the marketing aspect of the fashion industry. In the mid-1960s, Armani moved to the Nino Cerruti company, where he designed menswear. His skills were in demand, and for the next decade, while working for Cerruti, Armani also freelanced, contributing designs to as many as ten manufacturers at a time. In the late 1960s, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, an architectural draftsman, which marked the beginning of a personal and professional relationship which lasted for many years. In 1973, Galeotti persuaded him to open a design office in Milan, at 37 Corso Venezia. This led to a period of extensive collaboration, during which Armani worked as a freelance designer for several fashion houses, including Allegri, Bagutta, Hilton, Sicons, Gibò, Montedoro, and Tendresse. The international press was quick to acknowledge Armani's importance following the runway shows at the Sala Bianca in the Pitti Palace in Florence. The experience allowed Armani to develop his style in new ways.

In 2007, Armani became the first designer to ban models with a body mass index (BMI) under 18, after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa. He broadcast his collection live on the Internet, the first in the world of haute couture, on 24 January 2007. The Armani Privé Spring/Summer 2007 fashion show was broadcast via MSN and Cingular cellular phones. In 2008, Armani designed a bullfighting costume entitled the "Goyesco" that was worn by Spanish bullfighter Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez at the "Corrida Goyesca" in Ronda, Spain. They also collaborated on several fashion shows and other events. Starting in 2009, Armani had a retail network of 60 Giorgio Armani boutiques, 11 Collezioni, 122 Emporio Armani, 94 A/X Armani Exchange, 1 Giorgio Armani Accessori and 13 Armani Junior stores spread over 37 countries.

In 2011, Armani became the first luxury designer to accept Livia Giuggioli Firth's Green Carpet Challenge to highlight sustainable fashion created out of recycled plastics and fabrics. His designs for the challenge were a dress for her and a tuxedo for her then-husband, actor Colin Firth. In 2015, Armani was an artist who was a part of the Paris Photography Public Programme. This event helped showcase a variety of special exhibitions. As an official partner, Armani's ACQUA #6, represented works that focus on the theme of water in photography. As of 2017, he had an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a personal fortune of $8.1 billion. In 2019, he introduced his first fine jewellery collection during Haute Couture Week in Paris. The 2022 "Josep