Giorgio Armani has passed away at the age of 91. What a life well-lived. Armani built a billion-dollar fashion powerhouse from the ground up, his name became eponymous with great style, he was an Italian icon and an international fashion icon. Permanently tan, with striking white hair, and friends with seemingly every celebrity for decades. He passed away at his home in Milan, surrounded by friends and family.

Italian designer Giorgio Armani, who founded his eponymous company in 1975 and became synonymous with the power suit, has died at the age of 91. The Armani Group announced on Thursday that the global fashion icon died at his home in Milan.

“With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder and tireless driving force,” said the fashion house in a statement.

He passed away “peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the company added. “Tireless, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, its collections, and the diverse and ever-evolving projects both existing and in progress.”

His employees and family added in a statement, “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.”

Armani had missed Milan Fashion Week in June 2025 for the first time during the previews of Spring-Summer 2026 menswear to recover from an undisclosed condition. This month he had been planning a major event to celebrate 50 years of his signature Giorgio Armani fashion house during Milan Fashion Week, the Associated Press reported.

Born in Piacenza, Italy, on July 11, 1934, the lifelong cinephile enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with Hollywood. Known among fashion cognoscenti for his innovations to men’s tailoring beginning in the 1970s, he became a global sensation practically overnight after designing Richard Gere’s wardrobe in 1980’s American Gigolo.

In its statement, the fashion house announced that visitations to Armani’s funeral chamber in Milan, at Via Bergognone 59, will be permitted on Saturday, Sept. 8, and Sunday, Sept 7th, and will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The funeral will be held privately.

[From THR]

What’s also remarkable about Armani’s life is that he was embroiled in very few personal or professional scandals. The only one of real note was that the company used subcontractors in China, so some Armani products were not actually “made in Italy.” I would also assume that Giorgio and the company’s executives had already figured out what happens next to the business? While he has no children, he gave several family members positions on the board, and he was grooming several of them to take on more of the daily operations.

Photos courtesy of WENN/Avalon Red, Avalon Red and Dennis Van Tine/Avalon.