Fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who gained fame for his suit designs in the 1980s, has died in Milan at age 91, per the New York Times. One of the fashion world’s best-known talents, Armani never became stale, adapting to changes in taste and in the market over his many decades at the head of his eponymous company, which is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary later this month.
Armani is remembered not only for his elegant clothing for men and women but also for his business savvy. He was one of the first designers to leverage star power to enhance his brand’s name recognition, achieving his first burst of American success by supplying the clothes worn by Richard Gere in the 1980 film American Gigolo. The long list of celebrities who sported his designs on red carpets over the years includes Sophia Loren, Grace Jones, Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow and Renée Zellweger. The firm expanded from fashion into cosmetics, fragrances, watches, hotels, restaurants and home decor, with Armani/Casa, among many other business lines, becoming a multi-million-dollar enterprise.
“In this company, we have always felt like part of a family,” his employees and his family said in a statement shared by WWD. “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.”
