Fashion icon Giorgio Armani passes at age 91

Legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani passed away at his home in Milan, Italy, at the age of 91, his company announced in a statement on Thursday.

The firm said: "With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani. 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."

A funeral chamber will be set up over the weekend and will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at Via Bergognone 59, inside the Armani/Teatro in Milan. In accordance with the late designer's wishes, his funeral service will be held privately.

Ahead of the menswear Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani spring 2026 shows in June, the company announced that Armani wouldn't take his final bows at either event and was "currently recovering at home", though they didn't share any other details. Armani had been gearing up to mark his eponymous firm's 50th anniversary with a fashion show and party during Milan Fashion Week later this month.

Armani burst onto the fashion scene in 1975 and found international fame in 1980 when he dressed Richard Gere for his lead role in American Gigolo. His famous clients over the years included Sophia Lauren, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Tina Turner, George Clooney and Cate Blanchett.

The designer, who held the role of chairman, CEO and creative designer at his company, had a business empire that went beyond clothing and also included hotels and residences, skincare, and perfumes. In 2023, his net cash and investments amounted to a staggering 1.03 billion euros.

In 2016, he confirmed he had established the Giorgio Armani Foundation to fund social projects and to ensure his fashion group would live on.

He said at the time: "I decided to create the Giorgio Armani Foundation in order to implement projects of public and social interest.

"The foundation will also safeguard the governance assets of the Armani Group and ensure that these assets are kept stable over time, in respect of and consistent with some principles that are particularly important to me and that have always inspired my activities as a designer and an entrepreneur.

"These founding principles are based upon: autonomy and independence, an ethical approach to management with integrity and honesty, attention to innovation and excellence, an absolute priority to the continuous development of the Armani brand sustained by appropriate investments, prudent and balanced financial management, limited recourse to debt and a careful approach to acquisitions."

Celebrities including Julia Roberts, Anna Wintour, Ralph Lauren, Mira Sorvino, Samuel L Jackson, Russell Crowe and Victoria Beckham have paid tribute.