Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91, the Armani Group announced on Thursday.
The designer is credited over his decades of practice with curating a quintessentially Italian aesthetic in his clothes, as well as taking Hollywood’s red carpets to new heights.
“Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the Armani Group said in a statement, describing the founder as “a tireless driving force.”
“In this company, we have always felt like part of a family,” read a statement provided by the brand on behalf of his family and employees.
“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.”
In June 2025, Armani was not present to take his usual bow at the brand’s show during Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week, marking the first time in his career he had missed his own runway event. At the time, the company released a statement that he was “currently recovering at home” without specifying his health condition.
In the current luxury landscape, which is dominated by conglomerates such as Louis Vuitton owner LVMH and Gucci parent company Kering, Armani was one of the few designers to remain the sole shareholder of his company. As of yet, there is no obvious heir to the Armani business, which in 2024 was valued by analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence between 8 to 10 billion euros ($9.3 billion to $11.7 billion).
Born in 1934, in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, Armani didn’t show a professional interest in fashion until 1957, after studying medicine and then a stint in the military, he got a job as a window dresser at the historic La Rinascente department store in Milan — a move that would begin his lifelong association with Italy’s fashion capital.
Armani’s many accolades included being named a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2021, one of the country’s highest honors, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
He was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, in 2002.
