Giorgio Armani was born in Piacenza, Italy in 1934. After studying medicine and serving in the military for two years, he worked his way up in the world of fashion first as an employee of La Rinascente department store in Milan and then as a menswear designer for Nino Cerruti. In 1975 he established his own fashion house with $10,000 seed capital (per The Financial Times), ultimately growing the enterprise into an empire and becoming a billionaire in the process.
Armani was a sought-after designer for Hollywood talent, at the forefront of establishing the modern relationship between actors and fashion houses. His work adorned the likes of Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, and Lady Gaga; at the most recent Academy Awards, top nominees Demi Moore and Adrien Brody both wore Armani. But his relationship with Hollywood went beyond the red carpet. The artist had a “great love for the cinema,” and described it as his “childhood dreams come true” when he began “collaborating with the biggest filmmakers and actors in the world, contributing the costumes for wonderful films,” as he explained in an essay for Grazia magazine in 2020.
The first was 1980’s American Gigolo: “In the film, the clothes from my collection were a style choice of director Paul Schrader; that style, that way of dressing, would become something of a co-star in the film,” in Armani’s own words. “I don’t think I even owned a proper suit before I did American Gigolo. He probably taught the whole male world the joy of wearing a beautiful suit,” star Richard Gere said to the Financial Times. From there, Armani went on to costume more than 200 films, including The Untouchables, Goodfellas, American Psycho, Inglorious Basterds, The Social Network, and more. His love of cinema was returned when he became the subject of Martin Scorsese’s 1990 short documentary film Made In Milan.
As fate would have it, his final interview was published just days before his death in the Financial Times in celebration of the 50th anniversary of his fashion house. It included many tributes from collaborators across the decades, from Laura Dern to Jonathan Bailey. His death was met with yet more remembrances from friends, admirers, and muses, including Roberts (“A true friend. A legend”), supermodel Cindy Crawford (“Heartbroken to hear about the passing of a legend. A true master of his craft”), and Donatella Versace (“The world has lost a giant today. He made history and will be remembered forever”). “Kind, generous and loyal. A true pioneer of elegance. A global inspiration. And today, a massive loss for all,” Michelle Pfeiffer said (via Reuters). “Thank you for everything Mr. Armani, it was an honor and privilege to work with you on so many momentous occasions in my life and to witness your craft firsthand.”
“Giorgio was more than a clothing designer. He was a real artist, and a great one—people use the term ‘timeless’ quite often, but in his case it happens to be true,” Scorsese said in his own statement . “There’s nothing hip or tied to the moment in Giorgio’s designs. They’re genuinely elegant, inside and out, and they aren’t meant to be gazed at on a runway. They’re for people to wear, to enhance their own individual sense of natural elegance.”
