Giorgio Armani, the Italian designer who built one of the world's best-known fashion houses and kept sole ownership of it for five decades, died on Thursday 4 September 2025 at his home in Milan. He was 91. The Armani group announced his death in a statement, saying he had died peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones, and had worked until his final days.
Armani had missed his own menswear show in Milan in June 2025 while recovering from an undisclosed condition, and had been preparing a large event during Milan Fashion Week in September to mark 50 years of his company.
From medical student to menswear
Armani was born in Piacenza, south-east of Milan, in 1934. He moved to Milan in the early 1950s to study medicine, left to do his military service, and then joined La Rinascente, Italy's largest department store, where he worked in display and buying. He went on to work for the textile and clothing house of Nino Cerruti, and was largely self-taught as a designer, having first learned to make clothes from his mother.
Encouraged by his partner, Sergio Galeotti, he opened a design office and in 1975 launched his own label, reportedly financed in part by selling his Volkswagen. His first menswear collection, in October 1975, was well received, and his reputation grew through the late 1970s for jackets that dropped much of the padding and stiffness of traditional tailoring in favor of a softer, more fluid line.
International fame came in 1980, when he designed Richard Gere's wardrobe for the film American Gigolo. He went on to costume more than 100 films. Over the following decades the business expanded into Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans and other lines, as well as accessories, fragrance, cosmetics, home furnishings and hotels.
“The legacy I hope to leave is one of dedication, respect and an eye for reality.”
Giorgio Armani, quoted by FashionNetwork.com
A house he kept for himself
Unlike most of his peers, Armani never sold his business or brought in outside shareholders. He co-founded the company with Galeotti and remained its sole major shareholder, with tight control of both design and management. According to Reuters, he turned down approaches over the years, including one from John Elkann in 2021 and an earlier one from Gucci when Maurizio Gucci ran it. The group reported revenue of $2.58 billion in 2024. Armani had no children.
In 2021 he received the Knight Grand Cross, one of Italy's highest honors, for his services to Italian fashion. After his death, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described him as a tireless worker and a symbol of the best of Italy.
Funeral and farewell
In line with his wishes, the funeral was private. A funeral chamber was opened at the Armani/Teatro, at Via Bergognone 59 in Milan, on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 September from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and thousands of people filed past his casket. The funeral took place on Monday 8 September at the church of San Martino in Rivalta, a village near Piacenza, with a small group of family members, colleagues and close friends. Italian media reported that he would be cremated and his ashes placed in the family chapel in Rivalta, where his parents and older brother are buried.
What it means for tailoring
Armani's influence on how men wear a jacket is hard to overstate. By lightening the structure of the suit, he made tailoring feel less formal at a time when many men were moving away from it, and his approach shaped ready-to-wear suits well beyond his own label. His palette of grays, beiges and muted blues, and his preference for fluid fabrics, became a recognizable alternative to the firmer English cut.
In its statement, the company said that employees and family members who had worked alongside him would protect what he built and carry the company forward. The question of who would control the business, and on what terms, was set out in his will, which was due to be opened in the following days.
