GetWiki

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}{{Short description|Italian fashion designer (born 1934)}}{{about|the fashion designer|his company|Armani}}

factoids

| birth_place = Piacenza, Italy| death_date =| death_place =| death_cause =| education =| alma_mater = University of Milan | occupation = Fashion designer| children =| spouse = }} Giorgio Armani ({{IPA-it|ˈdʒordʒo arˈmaːni}}; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained renown working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta, and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 2001, Armani was acclaimed as the most successful designer of Italian origin, and is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion.

Early years

Armani was born in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, where he was raised with his older brother Sergio and younger sister Rosanna by his mother Maria Raimondi and father Ugo Armani (an accountant for a transport company).{{cn|date=October 2023}}While at secondary school at the Liceo Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, Armani aspired to follow a career in medicine, particularly after reading A. J. Cronin's The Citadel. He enrolled in the department of medicine at the University of Milan, but in 1953 after attending for three years, he left and joined the army. Due to his medical educational background, he was assigned to the Military Hospital in Verona, where he would attend shows at the Arena. He eventually decided to look for a different career path.{{sfn|Molho|2007|pp=28–29}}

Design career

After serving in the military for two years, Armani became a window dresser and sales clerk at La Rinascente, a department store in Milan in 1957. In that same year at the store, he was responsible for showcasing the earliest garments of the innovative Finnish textiles, clothing, and home furnishings company, Marimekko. He went on to become a seller for the menswear department. In that capacity, he gained valuable experience in the marketing aspect of the fashion industry.{{sfn|Molho|2007|pp=33–36}} In the mid-1960s, Armani moved to the Nino Cerruti company, where he designed menswear. His skills were in demand, and for the next decade, while continuing to work for Cerutti, Armani also freelanced,{{sfn|Molho|2007|pp=38–39, 41, 49}} contributing designs to as many as ten manufacturers at a time. In the late 1960s, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, an architectural draftsman, which marked the beginning of a personal and professional relationship that lasted for many years. In 1973, Galeotti persuaded him to open a design office in Milan, at 37 Corso Venezia. This led to a period of extensive collaboration, during which Armani worked as a freelance designer for several fashion houses, including Allegri, Bagutta, Hilton, Sicons, Gibò, Montedoro, and Tendresse. The international press was quick to acknowledge Armani's importance following the runway shows at the Sala Bianca in the Pitti Palace in Florence. The experience allowed Armani to develop his style in new ways. He was now ready to devote his energy to his own label, and on 24 July 1975, he founded Giorgio Armani S.p.A. in Milan, with his friend Galeotti. In October of that same year, he presented his first collection of men's ready-to-wear for Spring and Summer of 1976 under his own name. He also produced a women's line for the same season.{{Citation|last=Pizzi|first=Sara|title=Giorgio Armani|date=16 May 2010|url=http://www.vogue.it/en/encyclo/designers/a/giorgio-armani|work=Vogue|access-date=18 December 2015|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222115311weblink|url-status=dead}} Italian manufacturers had begun to invest in local designers and did so on unusually favourable terms. They financed production and marketing and paid the designers a percentage of the profits. New designers such as Armani could begin their businesses free from debt, with ambitious fashion shows and advertising campaigns. Over the years the designer has made it very evident that he chooses not only to support the fashion industry, but to add to the art field as well. The information provided by The Museum of Modern Art gives an example of how in 1990 Armani supported the New York show, Pier Paolo Pasolini: The Eyes of a Poet. This show was an exhibition taking an inside look into artist Pasolini, specifically, it presented people twenty-two films. Although, Pasolini was known for a plethora of things, knowing that he created works mostly in the form of film or writing shows another side of Armani demonstrating an example of his appreciation of the arts. (File:Giorgio Armani - Vogue Fashion's Night Out Sept.10 2009 MILANO.jpg|thumb|left|Giorgio Armani in 2009) Armani established an innovative relationship with the fashion industry, characterized by the 1978 agreement with Gruppo Finanzario Tessile (GFT), which made it possible to produce luxury ready-to-wear in a manufacturing environment under the attentive supervision of the company's designer. In 1979, after founding the Giorgio Armani Corporation, Armani began producing for the United States and introduced the Main line for men and women. The label became one of the leading names in international fashion with the introduction of several new product lines, including G. A. Le Collezioni, Giorgio Armani Underwear and Swimwear, and Giorgio Armani Accessories. In the early 1980s, the company signed an important agreement with L'Oréal to create perfumes and cosmetics Armani Beauty and introduced the Armani Junior, Armani Jeans, and Emporio Armani lines, followed in 1982 by the introduction of Emporio Underwear, Swimwear, and Accessories. A new store was opened in Milan for the Emporio line, followed by the first Giorgio Armani boutique. Armani's concern for the end user culminated in the development of a more youthful product with the same level of stylistic quality as his high-end line, but at a more accessible price. Because of the nature of the Emporio line, Armani felt that he had to make use of new and unconventional advertising methods. These included television spots and enormous street ads, together with a house magazine that was sent out by mail to consumers, and faithful Armani Eagle wearers. Armani also felt that a relationship with the cinema was essential, both for promotional reasons and for the stimulus to creativity. Armani had the honour to produce his work for the infamous film American Gigolo, specifically for the actor Richard Gere who played the character Julian Kaye. The production of his work through film really helped publicize Armani's talents. It also heavily publicized his name, Gere wrenching open a drawer of Armani shirts, perfectly folded, labels exposed, before composing four entirely Armani outfits in what ultimately amounted to cinema's best advertising campaign for a fashion brand ever. It projected Armani's name and style to an audience far broader than any fashion magazine could reach. The film made Gere a star, and Armani too. Armani designed costumes for more than one hundred films, one of the most important of which was The Untouchables (1987).{{Citation|last=Snead|first=Elizabeth|title='The Untouchables': A Clothes Controversy|date=28 June 1987|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-06-28/features/8702240856_1_wardrobe-costume-designer-untouchables|work=Sun-Sentinel|access-date=18 December 2015|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222122402weblink|url-status=dead}}In 1983, the designer modified his agreement with GFT. They began to produce both the Mani line for the United States and his high-end ready-to-wear line, rechristened Borgonuovo 21, after the address of the company headquarters. During the late 1980s, despite Galeotti's death in 1985, Armani continued to expand commercial horizons and licensing agreements. He opened Armani Japan and introduced a line of eyeglasses (1988), socks (1987), a gift collection (1989), and a new "basic" men's and women's line for America known as A/X Armani Exchange (1991). After the frenetic expansion of the 1990s (sportswear, watches, eyeglasses, cosmetics, home, and new accessories collections), 2000, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the brand, saw a flurry of investment activity, including stock sales and the acquisition of new manufacturing capacity intended to increase Armani's control over the quality and distribution of his products.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}Armani's men's and women's skiwear and ski casualwear line was developed in 1995. His 1991 project, A/X: Armani Exchange, represented Armani's attempt to break into the American mass market, offering lower prices for relaxed chic clothes.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}(File:Giorgio Armani 1997.jpg|thumb|Giorgio Armani, in September 1997)In 1996 his long-time friend Eric Clapton composed songs for Armani's fashion shows and has since dressed in Armani. Later that year Clapton opened two Emporio Armani stores in New York City.WEB,weblink 12 September 1996 - Eric Clapton & His Band, Lexington Armory New, York, NY United, States, Where's Eric!, 14 November 2021, 7 October 2022,weblink dead, In 1998 Armani hosted a party for Clapton's Crossroads guitar auction.Eric Clapton My Life – The AutubiographyThe Oxford Art Journal made note in their article, "Hermes in Asia: Haute Couture, High Art and The Marketplace", that the designer took influences from other cultures as inspiration for some of his works and cited his Japanese designs as examples. Armani also prepared to break into the Chinese market by opening up his first store in that country in 1998. A small shop in Beijing was followed by a flagship store in Shanghai in 2004 and plans for 40 by 2011. In 2000, Giorgio Armani SpA was introducing new lines of cosmetics and home furnishings, and expanding its line of accessories. Armani has had a broad level of influence internationally because his work has reached far beyond just clothes and accessories of haute couture. His work can be referenced with many infamous artists of the past who created other types of art. Because of how valuable and detailed his job is, it often forms a bridge from fashion to art. An example is the Guggenheim Museum in New York hosted an exhibition of Armani's work – a first for a living designer – with an average attendance of 29,000 a week. This is referenced in the periodical The Aesthetics of Smelly Art, inside the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism.In 2008, Armani designed a bullfighting costume entitled the "Goyesco" that was worn by Spanish bullfighter Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez at the "Corrida Goyesca" in Ronda, Spain. They have also collaborated on several fashion shows and other events.WEB,weblink Giorgio Armani Designs Costume for Cayetano Rivera Ordonez for The Corrida Goyesca, 29 July 2008, Armani Press,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110711093437weblink">weblink 11 July 2011, dead, 12 December 2010, In 2011, Armani became the first luxury designer to accept Livia Firth's Green Carpet Challenge to highlight sustainable fashion created out of recycled plastics and fabrics. His designs for the challenge were a dress for her and a tuxedo for her then-husband, actor Colin Firth.As of 2009, Armani had a retail network of 60 Giorgio Armani boutiques, 11 Collezioni, 122 Emporio Armani, 94 A/X Armani Exchange, 1 Giorgio Armani Accessori, and 13 Armani Junior stores spread over 37 countries. As of 2017, he had an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a personal fortune of $8.1 billion.WEB,weblink Giorgio Armani, March 2012, The World's Billionaires, Forbes,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120405202632weblink">weblink 5 April 2012, dead, 30 April 2012, In 2015, Giorgio Armani was an artist who was a part of the Paris Photography Public Programme. This event helped showcase a variety of special exhibitions. As an official partner, Armani's ACQUA #6, represented works that focus on the theme of water in photography. In 2001, Armani was acclaimed as the most successful designer of Italian origin.WEB,weblink Giorgio Armani biography, Craven, Jo, 11 May 2011, Vogue,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110101231048weblink">weblink 1 January 2011, dead, 11 July 2012,

Innovations

Armani is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion.WEB,weblink Giorgio Armani: the man who invented red-carpet dressing, 22 September 2014, The Daily Telegraph, 20 April 2015, 27 April 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150427111620weblink">weblink live, Armani was the first designer to ban models with a body mass index (BMI) under 18, after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa.NEWS, 20 January 2007, Brazil mourns as anorexia claims another model's life, en, Reuters,weblink 23 February 2022, 23 February 2022,weblink live, Armani broadcast his collection live on the Internet, the first in the world of haute couture, on 24 January 2007. The Armani Privé Spring/Summer 2007 fashion show was broadcast via MSN and Cingular cellular phones.WEB,weblink Giorgio Armani brings haute couture live to Internet, 25 January 2007, EnjoyFashion,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070222145503weblink">weblink 22 February 2007, dead, Armani has designed many stage outfits for pop superstar Lady Gaga, including those worn on her record-breaking Monster Ball Tour and Born This Way Ball Tour. He has also designed for many high-profile award shows, such as the 52nd Grammy Awards and the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.WEB, Fancye, Miss, 1 May 2013, Lady Gaga: 10 Most Outrageous Outfits,weblink 23 February 2022, WhatCulture.com, en, 23 February 2022,weblink live, WEB, 13 September 2010, 2010 MTV VMAs - Lady GaGa In Giorgio Armani & Franc Fernandez,weblink 23 February 2022, Red Carpet Fashion Awards, en-US, 7 April 2023,weblink dead,

Armani Hotel Collection

Giorgio Armani and Emaar Properties PJSC signed an agreement in 2005 for Emaar Properties PJSC to build and operate at least seven luxury hotels and three vacation resorts under the Giorgio Armani name. Giorgio Armani would be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the interior design and style of the hotels.The Armani Hotel was opened in Burj Khalifa on 27 April 2010,WEB,weblink Armani hotel opens in Dubai's Khalifa tower, 15 May 2012, Jpost.com, 15 February 2013, Associated Press, 1 May 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100501135938weblink">weblink live, comprising the bottom 39 floors of the supertall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; it has 160 guest rooms and suites, and 144 residences.WEB,weblink Armani Hotels, Resorts and Residences official website, Armanihotels.com, 15 February 2013, 19 November 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101119120459weblink">weblink live, Giorgio Armani is also designing the interiors of the Armani Residences, also within the skyscraper, and its specially designed line of products from the Armani/Casa home furnishings collection.

Music

Armani Musica presents Emporio Armani Caffè compilations, a series of special CD compilations curated by Giorgio Armani with DJ-sound designer Matteo Ceccarini, offering an eclectic mix of conceptual sounds and underground rhythms.

Sport

File:Giorgio Armani - Vogue Fashion's Night Out Sept.10 2009 - MILANO.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Armani with Olimpia MilanoOlimpia MilanoGiorgio Armani has a keen interest in sports. He is the president of the Olimpia Milano basketball team,WEB,weblink Armani Exchange owner Giorgio Armani: 'This is the strongest team I've ever had', 13 December 2023, 13 December 2023,weblink live, and an Inter Milan fan.NEWS,weblinkweblink 12 January 2022, subscription, live, Armani turns England out in a style that will suit Beckham, Alexander, Hilary, 19 May 2003, The Daily Telegraph, London, 14 July 2011, {{cbignore}}WEB,weblink Giorgio Armani Biography, WhyFame,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071013154613weblink">weblink 13 October 2007, dead, 14 July 2011, He has twice designed suits for the England national football team.WEB,weblink Giorgio Armani Presents New England Football Team Off-Field Wardrobe for European Championships, PR Newswire on behalf of Giorgio Armani, 10 July 2011, 8 June 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110608185835weblink">weblink live, He has since designed suits worn by players of the London club Chelsea since August 2007.WEB,weblink An Excellent Pitch, Barnett, Leisa, 3 August 2007, Vogue,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20111230052853weblink">weblink 30 December 2011, dead, 14 July 2011, He designed the Italian flag bearers' outfits at the opening ceremony at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin,WEB,weblink Armani to Design Italian Olympic Uniforms, Aldern, Natalie, 13 July 2011, Italy Magazine, 14 July 2011, 25 September 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110925035223weblink">weblink live, and also designed Italy's Olympic uniforms for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Armani also designed and introduced the EA7 range, a brand inspired by Ukrainian footballer Andriy Shevchenko, who at the time played for A.C. Milan and wore the number 7 jersey.WEB, EA7 Shop Verbier {{!, The Rock Shop|url=https://www.therockshop.ch/ea7|access-date=23 February 2022|website=therockshop|language=en|archive-date=23 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223202342weblink|url-status=live}} As regards sports, Armani owns Italian basketball club Olimpia Milano and has designed uniforms for the Italian Olympic and Paralympic teams.Chelsea commissioned Armani to create a new look for its Directors' Suite at Stamford Bridge.WEB, FashionUnited, 7 August 2007, Armani Lounge at Chelsea Football Club,weblink 23 February 2022, FashionUnited, en, 23 February 2022,weblink live, WEB, Armani To Design Chelsea Suits,weblink 23 February 2022, www.femalefirst.co.uk, en, 24 February 2022,weblink live, Beginning in 2021, Giorgio Armani entered into a multi-year sponsorship agreement as an official supplier to Scuderia Ferrari. Armani will provide official and travel ensembles to members of the team in return for brand exposure and association with the world's number-one brand and most popular motorsport team.WEB, Giorgio Armani and Richard Mille team up with Ferrari,weblink 11 July 2021, FashionNetwork.com, en, 9 July 2021,weblink live,

Personal life

Armani is an intensely private man, but has publicly identified as bisexual. He had a longstanding relationship with his business partner, the fashion designer Sergio Galeotti, who died of a heart attack in 1985. He has some relatives in the United States as well. Giorgio Armani spends much of his time according to family on his over 200 ft yacht and loves sailing.WEB,weblink Armani, Giorgio (b. 1934), glbtq.com,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150227034401weblink">weblink 27 February 2015, dead, 24 April 2015, Will Giorgio Armani be the Last Fashion Designer? {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323021428weblink |date=23 March 2015 }} New York. Retrieved 24 April 2015.Giorgio Armani and Sergio Galeotti: A Love Story {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713084043weblink |date=13 July 2015 }} LuxeMag, 21 July 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2015.File:Giorgio Armani Rodeo Drive Walk Of Style.png|thumbnail|Giorgio Armani Honor at the Walk of Style, Beverly HillsBeverly Hills

Honours

• {{ITA}}: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (14 July 2021)WEB, Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana,weblink October 24, 2022, www.quirinale.it, 24 October 2022,weblink live,

See also

• List of fashion designers
• Italian fashion

References

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

• BOOK, Renata, Molho, 2007, Being Armani: A Biography, Milan, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 978-88-6073-296-5,

Sources

• NEWS, Mackenzie, Suzie, The gentle touch, The Guardian, 11 December 2004,weblink 23 September 2007, 18 February 2024,weblink live,
• NEWS, McCartney, Stella, The wisdom of King Giorgio, The Independent, 16 May 2006,weblink 23 September 2007,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090116182227weblink">weblink 16 January 2009, dead,
• NEWS, Q & A: Giorgio Armani, The Scene, CNN, 3 October 2006,weblink 23 September 2007, 12 October 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101012083832weblink">weblink live,
• NEWS, Schinke, Amanda, Liar, Liar, Armani on Fire!, PETA, 7 October 2008,weblink 9 October 2008, 22 February 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100222083053weblink">weblink dead,
• Giorgio Armani, Spring-Summer Couture {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506213209weblink |date=6 May 2011 }}
• Giorgio Armani – The Businessman, the Designer and the Brand {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705104159weblink |date=5 July 2010 }}

External links

{{commons category}}

• www.giorgioarmani.com â€” Company website
• Giorgio Armani, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316194806weblink |date=16 March 2014 }}
• Giorgio Armani interview with Harper's Bazaar {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027054101weblink |date=27 October 2009 }}
• Giorgio Armani costume design drawings for AMERICAN GIGOLO, 1980, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160203035548weblink">Giorgio Armani at The Fashion Styles

{{Grands couturiers}}{{L'Oreal Brands}}{{Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award}}{{Authority control}}