Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani opened in 1975 in Milan, founded by Giorgio Armani and his partner Sergio Galeotti with capital from the sale of Armani’s Volkswagen Beetle. The debut menswear collection for spring and summer 1976 introduced the unstructured jacket, a garment that removed traditional padding, canvas, and stiff interfacings in favor of a fluid shoulder and a natural line.

The Italian press called him “the first postmodern designer,” and in 1982 he became the second fashion designer after Christian Dior to appear on the cover of Time magazine, a credential that confirmed his arrival as a global name.

Menswear was the foundation of the house. Armani had spent the 1960s designing for Nino Cerruti’s Hitman line before going independent, and his first collection was men’s only. The range covered soft-shouldered suits in greige, stone, and taupe, blazers worn like pullovers, wide trousers, and knitwear in lightweight wools usually reserved for womenswear.

The aesthetic went global after Richard Gere wore Armani throughout American Gigolo in 1980, followed by the Miami Vice wardrobe across the mid-1980s. That positioning placed Armani alongside Gianni Versace, Valentino, and Gianfranco Ferré as one of the Milanese designers who defined Italian fashion in the 1980s, though Armani’s softer, muted approach sat closer to Jil Sander and Helmut Lang in spirit. He was named Best International Designer by the CFDA in 1983.

Armani expanded the business through sub-lines Emporio Armani in 1981, Armani Jeans, Armani Privé haute couture in 2005, Armani/Casa home goods, Armani Hotels, and A/X Armani Exchange in 1991, and he remained the sole owner of the company for fifty years. He set up the Giorgio Armani Foundation in 2016 to protect the group’s independence from potential acquisition by LVMH or Kering.

Armani died on September 4, 2025 at the age of 91, and within a month the company named Giuseppe Marsocci as CEO and Pantaleo “Leo” Dell’Orco, his longtime partner and head of men’s style, as chairman. A new eight-member board was appointed in November 2025, including former Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri, ahead of a planned sale of a 15% stake.

Today Armani dresses the global luxury menswear shopper through tailoring, knitwear, and soft sportswear, sitting as one of the last independent Italian luxury houses of its scale. It holds a fifty-year position as the label that softened the Italian suit.