Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani (born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer.

He first gained renown working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta, and Hilton.

He enrolled in the department of medicine at the University of Milan, but in 1953 after attending for three years, he left and joined the army.

Due to his medical educational background, he was assigned to the Military Hospital in Verona, where he would attend shows at the Arena.

He eventually decided to look for a different career path.

After serving in the military for two years, Armani became a window dresser and sales clerk at La Rinascente, a department store in Milan in 1957.

In that same year at the store, he was responsible for showcasing the earliest garments of the innovative Finnish textiles, clothing, and home furnishings company, Marimekko.

He went on to become a seller for the menswear department.

In that capacity, he gained valuable experience in the marketing aspect of the fashion industry.

In the mid-1960s, Armani moved to the Nino Cerruti company, where he designed menswear.

His skills were in demand, and for the next decade, while continuing to work for Cerutti, Armani also freelanced, contributing designs to as many as ten manufacturers at a time.

In the late 1960s, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, an architectural draftsman, which marked the beginning of a personal and professional relationship that lasted for many years.

In 1973, Galeotti persuaded him to open a design office in Milan, at 37 Corso Venezia.

This led to a period of extensive collaboration, during which Armani worked as a freelance designer for several fashion houses, including Allegri, Bagutta, Hilton, Sicons, Gibò, Montedoro, and Tendresse.

The international press was quick to acknowledge Armani's importance following the runway shows at the Sala Bianca in the Pitti Palace in Florence.

The experience allowed Armani to develop his style in new ways.

He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels.

He was now ready to devote his energy to his own label, and on 24 July 1975, he founded Giorgio Armani S.p.A. in Milan, with his friend Galeotti.

In October of that same year, he presented his first collection of men's ready-to-wear for Spring and Summer of 1976 under his own name.

He also produced a women's line for the same season.

Italian manufacturers had begun to invest in local designers and did so on unusually favourable terms.

They financed production and marketing and paid the designers a percentage of the profits.

New designers such as Armani could begin their businesses free from debt, with ambitious fashion shows and advertising campaigns.

Over the years the designer has made it very evident that he chooses not only to support the fashion industry, but to add to the art field as well.

Armani established an innovative relationship with the fashion industry, characterized by the 1978 agreement with Gruppo Finanzario Tessile (GFT), which made it possible to produce luxury ready-to-wear in a manufacturing environment under the attentive supervision of the company's designer.

In 1979, after founding the Giorgio Armani Corporation, Armani began producing for the United States and introduced the Main line for men and women.

The label became one of the leading names in international fashion with the introduction of several new product lines, including G. A. Le Collezioni, Giorgio Armani Underwear and Swimwear, and Giorgio Armani Accessories.

In the early 1980s, the company signed an important agreement with L'Oréal to create perfumes and cosmetics Armani Beauty and introduced the Armani Junior, Armani Jeans, and Emporio Armani lines, followed in 1982 by the introduction of Emporio Underwear, Swimwear, and Accessories.

A new store was opened in Milan for the Emporio line, followed by the first Giorgio Armani boutique.

Armani's concern for the end user culminated in the development of a more youthful product with the same level of stylistic quality as his high-end line, but at a more accessible price.

Because of the nature of the Emporio line, Armani felt that he had to make use of new and unconventional advertising methods.

These included television spots and enormous street ads, together with a house magazine that was sent out by mail to consumers, and faithful Armani Eagle wearers.

The information provided by The Museum of Modern Art gives an example of how in 1990 Armani supported the New York show, Pier Paolo Pasolini: The Eyes of a Poet.

This show was an exhibition taking an inside look into artist Pasolini, specifically, it presented people twenty-two films.

Although, Pasolini was known for a plethora of things, knowing that he created works mostly in the form of film or writing shows another side of Armani demonstrating an example of his appreciation of the arts.

By 2001, Armani was acclaimed as the most successful designer of Italian origin, and is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion.

In 2010, he opened the Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.

According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of 2021, Armani had an estimated net worth of US$9.53 billion.

Armani was born in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, where he was raised with his older brother Sergio and younger sister Rosanna by his mother Maria Raimondi and father Ugo Armani (an accountant for a transport company).

While at secondary school at the Liceo Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, Armani aspired to follow a career in medicine, particularly after reading A. J. Cronin's The Citadel.