Italian designer Giorgio Armani, who founded his eponymous company in 1975 and became synonymous with the power suit, has died at the age of 91. The Armani Group announced on Thursday that the global fashion icon died at his home in Milan.
“With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder and tireless driving force,” said the fashion house in a statement.
He passed away “peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the company added. “Tireless, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, its collections, and the diverse and ever-evolving projects both existing and in progress.”
His employees and family added in a statement, “In this company, we have always felt like part of a family. 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.”
Armani had missed Milan Fashion Week in June 2025 for the first time during the previews of Spring-Summer 2026 menswear to recover from an undisclosed condition. This month he had been planning a major event to celebrate 50 years of his signature Giorgio Armani fashion house during Milan Fashion Week, the Associated Press reported.
Born in Piacenza, Italy, on July 11, 1934, the lifelong cinephile enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with Hollywood. Known among fashion cognoscenti for his innovations to mens tailoring beginning in the 1970s, he became a global sensation practically overnight after designing Richard Gere’s wardrobe in 1980’s American Gigolo. In the decades since, costume designers have turned to Armani to create some of the most swaggering looks in film, from Leonardo DiCaprio’s duds in The Wolf of Wall Street, Kevin Costner’s 1930s trench coat in The Untouchables, Christian Bale’s power suits as both Patrick Bateman and Bruce Wayne, Brad Pitt’s white tux in Inglourious Basterds, and the fang-like shirt collars in Goodfellas.
In its statement, the fashion house announced that visitations to Armani’s funeral chamber in Milan, at Via Bergognone 59, will be permitted on Saturday, Sept. 8, and Sunday, Sept 7th, and will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The funeral will be held privately.
