Fashion Icon Giorgio Armani Dies At 91

Italian fashion designer and billionaire Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91. Celebrated for redefining Italian style and elegance, Armani revolutionized men’s and women’s suits for the modern era and built a fashion empire spanning beauty, fragrance, music, sports, and luxury hotels, generating over £2 billion annually.

The Armani brand said on Instagram that Armani “worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections and the many ongoing future projects.” He was described as “indefatigable to the end” and “driven by relentless curiosity and a deep attention to the present and to people.”

A pioneer in the industry, Armani elevated red carpet fashion and championed model welfare, famously banning underweight models from the runway after the death of Ana Carolina Reston in 2006.

In a 2025 interview with The Financial Times, Alexander Fury highlighted Armani’s transformative influence: “He put women into a uniform of suits just as radical as Chanel’s, creating forceful, confident clothing that helped power the working woman’s social revolution of the 1980s. By contrast, he relaxed menswear, deconstructing traditional tailoring in a manner that has affected how just about every suit in the world is made.”

A close friend to Hollywood, Armani dressed stars including Zendaya, Cate Blanchett, and Julia Roberts for the Oscars, designed stage outfits for Lady Gaga, and created costumes for films such as American Gigolo and The Wolf of Wall Street. Even in his 90s, he continued presenting new collections, with his March 2025 show reflecting his vision of global harmony.

Vogue’s Laura Ingham called Armani a “true gentleman” and a “titan of the industry,” adding: “If you don’t know anything about fashion, you’ll still know Giorgio Armani. Mr. Armani built a house synonymous with timeless Italian elegance and enduring style. His legacy is woven not only into fashions past and present but will continue to shape its future for generations to come.”