09/05/2025
Obituary — Giorgio Armani, The Reluctant Designer Who Rewrote Fashion
Yesterday, the world lost Giorgio Armani. He was 91, and right until his final months he was still sketching designs and arguing about light fixtures before his shows. A man who started his professional life studying medicine ended it as the architect of the largest privately owned luxury brand on earth. In death, his name carries the weight of both a style and a system. Even as a kid in lowly Ilorin, I knew that Armani is shorthand for elegance. But in adulthood, in the abundance of books, I came to understand that it is also a business model.
Armani’s story began in Piacenza, south of Milan, in 1934. His childhood carried the marks of war. When he was not yet ten, a mine explosion left him badly injured. Doctors swathed his eyes in bandages for weeks, uncertain if he would ever see again. He would later credit his inability to see for a while as a factor in his heightened sense of fashion.
He went on to study medicine at the University of Milan. A brief stint in the army followed. His medical training placed him in an infirmary, but he never felt it was his calling. Fashion arrived by accident. A temporary job at La Rinascente department store as a window dresser opened doors. He was promoted to buying supervisor, sourcing goods from India and the United States. Soon after, he found himself designing for Nino Cerruti, the Italian businessman and stylist.
Armani never had formal training, but he understood instinctively that clothing was not only about covering the body. It was also about the way a jacket moved when someone sat down. At nearly 40, he walked away from security to strike out on his own. Together with his partner Sergio Galeotti, an architect, he sold their Volkswagen Beetle to fund a small studio. What he launched in 1975 became one of Italy’s greatest cultural exports.
The revolution was quiet. He took a man’s suit, removed the padding, stripped out the stiffness, let the fabric breathe. Suddenly, a jacket could drape like a shirt. It was an unspoken rebellion against Savile Row, the undisputable fashion brand at the time. He gave men ease without losing authority. Then he turned to women, offering them tailored suits that carried the same assurance. At a time when women were entering offices and television networks in greater numbers, Armani’s clothing were sharp and professional, but without the stiffness that had defined female workwear until then.
The turning point came in 1980. Richard Gere, playing a high-end es**rt in 'American Gi**lo', wore Armani. His louche sensuality, displayed in scenes where he carefully lays out Armani jackets across a bed, helped introduce the brand to mainstream America. Suddenly the world wanted that mix of confidence and ease. In boardrooms and corner offices, Armani became uniform.
Armani understood cinema because cinema had always been his escape. As a boy, he sat in dark theatres during wartime, transported to other worlds. Later, he turned Hollywood into his stage, opening an office in Los Angeles when no other European designer thought to. He gave stars the clothing, they gave him global press. It was a partnership before the word “branding” became currency.
It worked. Jodie Foster, clad in Armani, won an Oscar in 1992 and landed on best-dressed lists. Michelle Pfeiffer became a muse. Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Lady Gaga, and Zendaya wore him on red carpets. He created costumes for films from The Untouchables to The Wolf of Wall Street. His tuxedos became the standard for Russell Crowe and George Clooney. Armani turned celebrity dressing into a business practice. Today every fashion house does it. He was first.
By the 1990s, Armani was no longer only a fashion designer. His group expanded into Emporio Armani, Armani Exchange, fragrance, cosmetics, homeware, hotels, restaurants, even sports sponsorships. He dressed the Italian Olympic team and owned Olimpia Milano basketball. His partnership with Ferrari Formula One brought the brand to racetracks. The Armani Hotel in Dubai opened inside the world’s tallest building.
He never sold out. French conglomerates acquired most rivals. Armani resisted. He created the Giorgio Armani Foundation to protect his company from takeover, ensuring it would remain private even after his death. In 2023 his brand posted revenues over €2.5 billion. He himself amassed a fortune estimated at €12 billion, yet he lived by strict habits, often eating dinner alone with his cats, watching television. Armani was an intensely private man.
Once, that privacy was bridged when Galeotti, his partner, died of complications related to AIDS in 1985. He was inconsolable. Armani described his inability to prevent Galeotti's death as the greatest failure of his career. Armani shouldered the company alone from then on. Friends said he worked like a man holding his breath. “I have chosen work as my way of life,” he once said.
He expected his staff to share his discipline. At fittings and shows, he would correct details down to the half-centimeter. An aide once recalled him saying a tie was too long by precisely 1.5 cm, enough to throw off the outfit’s balance. His perfectionism could intimidate. It also defined his empire.
Italy treated him as a national treasure. He received the Italian Order of Merit for Labour. France awarded him the Legion of Honour. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called him “a symbol of the best of Italy.”
Armani continued working into his tenth decade. His 2025 shows in Paris and Milan included references to global politics. He spoke of harmony, saying it was “what we all need.” Concerns about his health surfaced when he missed Milan Fashion Week in June 2025. In July, he directed a couture show remotely from his Milan home. His final bow in January, alongside model Agnes Zogla, was emotional. Audiences stood for minutes, knowing they were watching a closing chapter.
When his death was announced, his company called him “indefatigable to the end.” He worked until his final days, designing. His burial will be private, but a chamber at the Armani headquarters will allow mourners to pay respects.
He left behind a foundation to protect the brand from takeover and placed relatives and trusted aides in positions to ensure continuity. Whether the empire endures without him remains to be seen. What is certain is that Armani gave the world a vision of elegance that transcended seasons. He made clothing that let people stand taller, walk slower, breathe more easily.
