Iconic fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who has been credited with inventing the concept of dressing celebrities for the red carpet, has died at the age of 91.
“Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by employees and
collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the Armani Group confirmed in a statement Thursday morning.
“Indefatigable to the end, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections, and the many ongoing and future projects.”
Born in 1934 in Piacenza, Italy, Armani initially pursued a career in medicine before enrolling in the army in his early twenties. His first stint in fashion was as a window dresser at the Milan department store La Rinascente in 1957.
In the 1960s, Armani designed menswear for Nino Cerruti and also freelanced for a number of other fashion houses before launching his own namesake brand in 1975 with both menswear and womenswear collections.
From there, Armani began to rapidly diversify his company, launching Giorgio Armani swimwear, underwear and accessories lines before introducing fragrances, Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani in the early 1980s. Around the same time, he began creating clothing for the big screen, famously designing the costumes for 1980’s “American Gigolo,” among many other films.
He also set up shop on tony Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, hiring LA-based reporter Wanda McDaniel to handle VIP outreach. In 1978, Diane Keaton accepted her Best Actress Oscar for “Annie Hall” in an oversized beige Armani blazer her character might’ve loved, and became the first Hollywood star to wear the brand on the red carpet.
Other actresses, accustomed to wearing gowns from movie studios’ wardrobe departments for big events, were more hesitant to take a chance on the new designer — like Michelle Pfeiffer, who famously responded to the brand’s offer with, “I can dress myself, and who is Giorgio Armani?”
Pfeiffer eventually warmed up to Armani and his clothes, and at the 1990 Academy Awards, the designer outfitted the “Scarface” star along with four of her stylish peers — Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Jessica Lange and Jessica Tandy — prompting Women’s Wear Daily to dub the evening the “Armani Awards.”
“These women looked powerful,” Clare Sauro, a fashion historian and curator at Drexel University, told The Post in 2016. “They stood in contrast to the big poufy skirts of the time. They had an understated glamour. It was the transition from ’80s opulence to ’90s minimalism.”
While rivals like Valentino and Versace began their own red carpet outreach, Armani’s hits kept on coming. In 1991, Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford married in Armani outfits; the following year, Jodie Foster won an Academy Award for “The Silence of the Lambs” in a shimmering, pale-colored suit by the designer. (Foster would go on to wear Armani to nearly every Oscars thereafter.)
In 2005, the same year his company celebrated its 30th anniversary, Armani doubled down on celebrity dressing with the launch of Armani Privé, a couture collection. “It’s a serious financial investment, but also a logical, pragmatic move: ultra special dresses like these are aimed directly at the Hollywood market he’s had a handle on for years,” Sarah Mower wrote in her review of the show for Vogue.
“According to Armani executives, stylists for Academy Awards nominees have already been jamming the phone lines in anticipation of the show.”18
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And while fashion houses tend to fall in and out of favor over time, a certain group of A-list actresses — among them Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts, Nicole Kidman and Foster — have been unflagging in their loyalty to Armani, and it’s not hard to see why.
“Wearing Armani on the red carpet means you’ve made it,” stylist Ali Levine told The Post in 2016. “It’s classic, timeless. No one is going to look bad in Armani.”
Tributes poured in from fashion and government leaders on Thursday, underscoring how “King Giorgio” defined Italian elegance for generations.
Donatella Versace hailed him as a historic giant, and Italy’s prime minister praised his role as a national standard-bearer. The company said mourners would be able to pay respects in the days ahead at Armani/Teatro in Milan, the venue he opened in 2001 as a permanent show space.
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His employees and family paid tribute to him in a statement released to the press, writing: “In this company, we have always felt like part of a family. Today, with deep emotion, we feel the void left by the one who founded and nurtured this family with vision, passion, and dedication. But it is precisely in his spirit that we, the employees and the family members who have always worked alongside Mr. Armani, commit to protecting what he built and to carrying his company forward in his memory, with respect, responsibility, and love.”
The designer held the reins at his company until the very end, acting as creative director, CEO and sole shareholder.
His passing comes as the company prepares for 50th anniversary celebrations later this month during Milan Fashion Week, including an exhibition at the Pinacoteca di Brera — the first fashion-related exhibition hosted by the prestigious museum.