Giorgio Armani, designer and undisputed figure of the fashion world, known as the ‘king’ of Italian fashion, died Thursday at the age of 91 in Milan, accompanied by his family and Leo Dell’Orco, his partner for the last 20 years, his business group reported.
“It is with infinite regret that the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani. Mr. Armani, as he was always called with respect and admiration by his employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the fashion house announced.
A statement emphasized that Armani “worked tirelessly until his last days, dedicating himself to the company, to the collections and to the various new projects underway and in development”.
A few weeks ago, shortly before his 91st birthday, a lung infection forced him to be hospitalized and convalesce at his home on Via Borgonuovo in Milan, forcing him to miss the men’s haute couture fashion show in June, a rare occurrence for this tireless worker who never left the ateliers.
‘The re Giorgio’ was an absolute fashion legend, a universal icon of contemporary style, who put women and their freedom at the center of his work, with a style always characterized by timeless elegance.
According to his family, a funeral chapel will be set up at the Armani Teatro in Milan from Saturday, September 6 to Sunday, September 7, and a private funeral will be held, as stated in his last wishes.
Last July, his firm turned half a century old and was crowned as one of the few successful designers who knew how to maintain the balance between creative vision and business leadership, while most of the historic houses have been absorbed by large international conglomerates.
But Armani fought to remain true to himself and to the philosophy with which he started in his atelier in Milan (north) in 1975 with his partner Sergio Galeotti, who died four decades ago.
It was in the 1970s that his ‘unstructured jacket’ changed the rules of the game. It broke with the rigidity of men’s fashion, but also played a key role in women’s fashion, with rigorously cut, masculine jacket and trouser suits.
He broke with gender stereotypes: for men, fluid and soft garments; for women, a structured and androgynous style. He was also known for his use of neutral colors, such as gray, beige, greige (a word coined to refer to his signature color, halfway between gray and beige) and the extensive use of midnight blue, which became his trademark.
Armani was also a pioneer in building bridges between fashion and Hollywood cinema, becoming one of the first designers to use product placement as a strategic tool, dressing actors in films and on red carpets.
Since then, stars such as Jodie Foster, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts and Amanda Seyfried have worn their creations to the most important events in the industry.
His elegance and education did not prevent him from being direct, as when in 2020 he lashed out against designers who, by forcing women to dress according to trends without considering what suits them, “rape” their clients, reported Agencia EFE.
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