Giorgio Armani, the legendary Italian designer who gave his name to the renowned Milan fashion house, has died aged 91.
Armani began as a fashion company in 1975 and later expanded into beauty, fragrance, music, sport and luxury hotels.
In a statement, the company said its founder "worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections and the many ongoing future projects".
It added that he was "indefatigable to the end" and "driven by relentless curiosity and a deep attention to the present and to people".
Armani was absent from his last three fashion shows over the summer due to illness, but he had been expected to attend the brand's 50th anniversary celebration later this month.
As the sole shareholder, Armani reportedly refused a number of takeover offers, describing the independence of the brands as “an essential value”.
Armani himself initially pursued a career in medicine but left the University of Milan before completing his degree to join the army.
After working as a window dresser and sales associate at a Milan department store, he moved into menswear design at Nino Cerutti.
Armani launched his own label aged 41 with the money he raised from selling his Volkswagen Beetle. The company generated revenue of €2.3bn in 2024.
Armani's sister Rosanna and her daughters, Silvana and Roberta, a nephew, Andrea Camerana, and Armani's right-hand man, Pantaleo Dell'Orco are expected to inherit some shares in the company.
Armani started thinking about succession and a plan to ensure the group's independence a decade ago, and he created a foundation in 2016.
His aim was to "safeguard the governance (of) 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."
The designer told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in 2017 that such a mechanism was needed to help his heirs to get along and to avoid the group being bought by others or broken up.
The foundation currently holds a 0.1% stake in Armani, but that is expected to grow following his passing. The designer also said he had designated three nominees to run the foundation.
Armani's net revenues fell 5% last year as EBITDA declined nearly a quarter (-24%) to €398m.
In his remarks alongside the latest accounts, Armani said he was determined to continue developing the business, which is smaller in scale compared to LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Dior), Kerring (Gucci) and Prada.
"I chose in any case to invest in projects of great symbolic and practical significance, which are fundamental to the future of the company," he said in the results statement in July.
Investments include the renovation of flagship stores in New York and Milan, and taking e-commerce management in-house.
The group had €570m in net cash at the end of 2024 after stepping up investments.
According to Forbes, Armani has a net worth of $12.1bn, primarily derived from his 99.9% stake in the company.
Photo: Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani acknowledges applause during the presentation of Emporio Armani's Fall-Winter 2023-2024 Women's collection on February 23, 2023 during the Fashion Week in Milan. (Pic: Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
