BIOGRAPHY:

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani is a legendary trendsetter not only in clothing, but also in accessories, fragrances and design in general. One of the richest people in the fashion industry, he owns the Dubai skyscraper hotel Burj Khalifa and his own hotel in his homeland. In 2020, Bloomberg estimated his fortune at $6.6 billion.

He was a costume designer for such cult films as “The Matrix” and “American Gigolo”, “The Untouchables” and “The Young Pope”. President of the Olimpia basketball team (Milan). Knight of the Legion of Honor

Childhood and youth:

Piacenza – Bologna – Milan Giorgio was born in the summer of 1934 to the family of Hugo Armani and Maria Raimondi. His parents were already raising his older brother Sergio and grieving for their untimely departed daughter Silvana, who died when her mother was carrying Giorgio under her heart. Later, Maria gave birth to another girl, who was named Rosanna. The entire large family was provided for by his father, who worked as an accountant. My mother, a housewife, got a job during the summer holidays as the head of a children’s sports camp.

Although Giorgio was born in Italy, he is Armenian by blood. According to Forbes Woman, his parents fled to the peninsula at the beginning of the 20th century to escape genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.

His parents were active supporters of sports: Hugo played football first for the Ivy Sports Association in Trieste, then for the same organization, but in Piacenza. My mother did gymnastics at an amateur level and instilled a love of physical education in her children.

She also regularly took the children to the theater, and sometimes Hugo joined them. Giorgio did not really like the theater; he preferred cinema. Every Sunday the boy went to the cinema, and was especially inspired when they showed musical films with beautifully dressed girls and young men.

The boy often tinkered with his younger sister. She loved to play with the dollhouse, and one day her brother sewed costumes for her dolls, and later helped sew the dolls themselves. We can say that it was then that his first designer products were born. Giorgio loved to read. One day, Archibald Cronin’s book “The Citadel” – about a young and hopeful doctor – fell into his hands. After this, the teenager decided that medicine should be his destiny and, after graduating from school, he entered the medical faculty of the University of Bologna. After studying for two years, Giorgio realized that medicine did not attract him and left the university.

First steps in fashion:

He worked as a photographer’s assistant, served in the army and returned to photography again. The young man bought a camera and went everywhere with it, looking for unusual shots and original stories. To earn money, he got a job as an assistant at the Rinascente department store, then became a window designer, realizing his wildest ideas and turning his own fantasies into reality.

The owner of the department store noticed the efficient young man and entrusted him with the purchase of Indian and Japanese goods, allowing him to select the collections himself. This fascinated Giorgio so much that he seriously thought about creating his own fashion line. He started sketching, sketching, and experimenting with color. A few years later, Armani began working for Nino Cerutti, owner of the Hitman brand. For six years, the young man was Nino’s assistant, created patterns and models, mastered a sewing machine, on which he independently sewed some things, to which Cerutti gave his name. Many years later, Cerutti would become his full partner and friend.

Giorgio also learned his craft from Emanuel Ungaro, then from Ermengildo Zegna. And in the early seventies, he dared to offer his own sketches and models to Italian fashion houses, and people began to buy his work. Feeling like a free artist, Armani created the first collection of clothes under his own name, which impressed spoiled fashionistas and critics. Milan received the debut of the aspiring fashion designer favorably.

Brand Giorgio:

Armani 1975 became a landmark year for Giorgio. Together with his close friend, architect Sergio Galeotti, he founded a brand under his own name, under which fashionable clothing collections began to be released. The success he had been waiting for for so long brought expansion of the business. The Italians enthusiastically accepted Armani’s new lines: shoes, accessories, watches, jewelry. Together with L’Oreal, the first eau de toilette fragrance appears, then a cosmetic line.
Giorgio created several divisions in the company, each of which was responsible for a separate area. New developments appear, the Giorgio Armani brand leaves the borders of Italy and spreads throughout the world. The fashion designer, in one of his interviews, said without false modesty: …

I think I have covered all aspects of what is called “lifestyle”, and I do not plan to develop in other sectors. But if an idea arises, I can change this opinion tomorrow.

At the moment, I am very attracted to hotel design… Celebrities and politicians, nouveau riche and fashion lovers are regular connoisseurs of items from Italian couturier. Hollywood actors and actresses wear his outfits and jewelry on the Oscars red carpet, and directors Brian De Palma and Paul Schrader even signed contracts to make costumes for the actors.

The brand is advertised exclusively by celebrities: Megan Fox, Cate Blanchett, David Beckham, Chris Pine and others. George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz, Russell Crowe and Lady Gaga love to dress in Armani.

In 2016, the famous Italian announced his decision not to use real fur in further collections. The stylist noted that the Armani Group, with new technologies at its disposal, can create fashionable items without resorting to the use of animal fur, which it opposes cruelty to. The Italian fashion designer has always had a sharp tongue. There is a famous case when, at Milan Fashion Week in 2009, Armani caught Dolce and Gabbana plagiarizing Chinese-style silk trousers from his collection. “Let them copy. Maybe they’ll finally learn to sew,” the designer noted philosophically.

In 2015, he criticized homosexuals, emphasizing that he was against demonstrating his orientation. “A man should remain a man,” he said, despite the fact that rumors about Armani’s homosexuality had been circulating for decades. In 2020, Armani compared the collections of modern couturiers to the rape of women: I think it’s time to say what I think. We, designers, rape women.

Design:

After some time, Giorgio Armani was entrusted with independently drawing up plans for the purchase of goods from India and Japan, putting together clothing collections to suit his own taste. This captivated the aspiring designer so much that fashion and style soon became a priority interest in life for Giorgio. The master himself later admits that what was happening turned out to be like an obsession: styles and shapes, colors and shades – this diversity captured Armani so much that he thought about creating his own line of clothing.

The first sketches, many of which would later come to life, were composed by the master while working in this department store. A few years later, in 1961, Armani went to work for Nino Cerutti, becoming the great master’s assistant. Giorgio collaborated with Cerutti for six years, creating new clothing patterns, inventing new models and sitting at the sewing machine. These clothes were then produced under the Hitman brand, which belonged to Cerutti.

Then Armani crossed paths with Ermenegildo Zegna and Emanuel Ungaro, from whom Giorgio also had a lot to learn. Since the early 1970s, Armani began creating his own clothing models outside of collaborations with anyone and then selling sketches to famous fashion houses.

Fashion house:

The fashion designer liked this activity of a free artist, and Armani started thinking about his own business. In 1974, Giorgio presented the first clothing line under his own name. This event is considered to be the beginning of Giorgio Armani’s independent path to the heights of the fashion world and fame. Fashionistas and fashionistas liked the first collection, and strict critics reacted surprisingly favorably to the debut. A year later, in 1975, Giorgio Armani, together with Sergio Galeotti, a close friend, founded the Giorgio Armani spa brand.

The fashion maestro devoted the following years to the development of his own brainchild. Soon the Giorgio Armani brand becomes almost the most recognizable in the world. The company’s product range is gradually expanding. Now fashionistas can choose not only Armani clothes, but also watches, comfortable shoes, accessories and costume jewelry, and jewelry. Soon his own collection of eau de toilette appeared, created together with L’Oreal. Armani perfumes, along with the brand’s clothing and cosmetics, are becoming incredibly desirable for fashion-conscious men and women.

After some time, the company grew so much that Giorgio Armani decided to create unique divisions, each of which would be responsible for a separate direction. For example, all collectible clothing began to be released under the Giorgio Armani label. Outfits of a more affordable price category appeared with the tags “Armani Collezioni” and “Armani Exchange”. And even young fashionistas received their own brand “Armani Junior”.

The success of Giorgio Armani was stunning – there was, perhaps, not a single country in which fashion connoisseurs did not dream of clothes from the great master. This hobby has not escaped show business stars either. Leonardo DiCaprio , Julia Roberts , Robert de Niro , Jodie Foster became Armani’s regular clients . And this is not a complete list of star names. According to some media reports, 90% of the celebrities who appeared on the Oscars red carpet were dressed in outfits from the popular couturier.

And directors Paul Schrader and Brian De Palma signed contracts with the Giorgio Armani company to make clothes for actors. In addition, the couturier was invited as a costume designer for the filming of The Matrix, American Gigolo, and The Untouchables. Judging by what the audience saw in the frame, the master coped with the task perfectly.

Moreover, every brand advertisement, be it a video or a photo in magazines, is truly a work of art with the participation of only famous stars. As it turns out, it’s not just partygoers and get-togethers who want to look fashionable. Giorgio Armani has developed the concept of a unique football kit for London’s Chelsea. Giorgio Armani’s contribution to the development of world fashion did not go unnoticed – the master was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.

Personal life:

he was never married, not a single woman gave him heirs. Giorgio’s closest relatives are nieces Roberta and Silvana, daughters of brother Sergio, as well as nephew Andrea Camerana, son of sister Rosanna. Roberta, who works in his fashion empire with VIP clients, became the closest to her billionaire uncle.

More than once, the stylist positioned himself as bisexual, which is why for twenty years there were rumors about Armani’s very close relationship with his friend and companion Sergio Galeotti. In 1985, Sergio died of AIDS, leaving his share of the assets of Giorgio’s company.

The stylist took Galeotti’s death very hard, plunging into a long depression. Only work saved Armani. The designer did not talk about his further relationships with women or men, but at one time he was credited with an affair with the Italian couturier Jano.

Together they were captured by paparazzi at the ski resort of St. Moritz in Switzerland. Giorgio was eighty years old at that moment, and thus he decided to celebrate the end of Paris Fashion Week. Jano and Armani traveled around the resort in an open carriage.

Giorgio Armani now:

In 2020, the Italian billionaire allocated almost one and a half million dollars to fight coronavirus in his homeland. The money was distributed to three Milan hospitals, a clinic in Rome and the People’s Defense Agency. Most of the company’s employees switched to remote work. Fall Fashion Week in New York took place without the participation of the Giorgio Armani fashion house. However, Armani announced the launch of a new fragrance, My Way, which was advertised by American actress Adria Arjona. The fragrance became the first step towards the implementation of a new environmental program of the famous stylist, who believes that environmental problems should concern every person, since the future of the new generation depends on it.