The legendary fashion designer had also diversified into sports.
Italian designer and entrepreneur Giorgio Armani passed away at his Milan home on Sept. 4, surrounded by his loved ones. Aged 91, he worked until his final days on the collections and future projects. Tributes flooded in from around the world.
Born in Piacenza on July 11, 1934, Armani grew up during World War II and moved to Milan with his family in 1949. He originally planned to pursue a career in medicine but dropped out before completing his degree at the University of Milan. After serving in the Italian Army, he started working as a window dresser at the department store La Rinascente in Milan. In the mid-1960s, Nino Cerruti noticed his talent and hired him to work as a stylist.
In 1975, Armani launched his own label in partnership with Sergio Galeotti. In 1980, he designed the clothes for American Gigolo, a movie directed by Paul Schrader and starring Richard Gere. It was the beginning of Armani’s love story with cinema. He designed costumes for 200 films and dressed dozens of movie stars. When Galeotti died in 1985, he carried on the company alone.
Armani entered the world of sports more than 20 years ago. In 2004, he created the EA7 line of sports clothing and accessories. Four years later, he acquired basketball club Olimpia Milano. Through EA7, his fashion house produced the formal uniforms worn by the Italian national football team that won the UEFA 2020 European Championship, postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Most recently, he designed the outfits of the Italian athletes for the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. He had previously dressed the Italian athletes for the London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, as well as the Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
