After working 50 years in the fashion world, Giorgio Armani  is more than just a stylist – it’s an institution, an icon and a multinational brand worth billions of dollars. Armani, the man, was born in 1934 in Piacenza, northern Italy. His formative years were not studying fashion, but rather doing military service and studying medicine. After working as a commercial manager for the La Rinascente warehouses in Milan, Armani got his first opportunity in 1964, when he was hired by Nino Cerruti to design the men’s line, Hitman.

Several years of success followed as an independent stylist, and in 1975 he founded the brand Giorgio Armani, with the help of his then partner, Sergio Galeotti. Armani’s “unstructured” jackets, both for men and women (a women’s line was created in 1976), razed traditional tailoring, and from the late 1970s on, his clothes became the uniform of dynamic and serious people. The men adored Armani´s laid-back suits and the soft color palette, often with beige and gray tones. At the same time, his feminine creations were admired for their modern and androgynous’ elegance.

Richard Gere’s “American Gigolo” (1980) suits definitively raised the stylist to a new level, as well as the cover of Time in 1982. The brand carries 6 different fashion lines, bed and table linens, chocolates and more recently, a luxury hotel chain. Armani won an important award in 1991 as an Honorary Doctorate from RCA (Royal College of Art, London, UK).

Since 2000, his creations have been featured on high fashion catwalks and enjoyed from all corners of the world. Armani captivated mainly a select public of Hollywood, and with the huge success, he launched in Paris  –  Giorgio Armani Privé –  his “haute couture” collection. After 40 years in business, Armani is still a synonym for class and elegance.

By Lauren Cochrane, Edited by Terry Jones & Susie Rushton

Photo of Tesh, Model Gisele Bunchen