Giorgio Armani was born in 1934 in Piacenza, famous for its most exquisite and durable cashmere. His mother was a tailor and made all the family's clothes.
Giorgio Armani studied medicine at the University of Bologna from 1952 to 1953. His first job was of the window designer in the La Rinascente departmental store, in Milan. Ten years later, in 1964 Armani left La Rinascente and joined Nino Cerruti where he worked as a designer for his menswear company Hitman.
In 1970, Giorgio Armani started a company with his friend Sergio Galeotti who had a background in architectural design. For five years, they freelanced with various manufacturers and designed for others. He made women’s clothes for Tendresse, coats for Gibo and made two menswear collections for Emanuel Ungaro, from whom Armani learned the good cutting and tailoring techniques. Only in 1974, Giorgio Armani held the first show in his own name.
Next year Giorgio Armani launched his own label. He also started ready-to-wear and Armani Junior, his children's line. In 1979, Armani launched Le Collezione for men and designed clothes for Richard Gere in the movie "American Gigolo". That year the first recognition came – Armani was honored with the Neiman Marcus Award.
His first designs revolved around the male jacket, which he believed to be the most important invention in the history of the fashion: suitable for all occasions, versatile and functional. Armani introduced a new way of dressing for women, which was not a mere appropriation of male wardrobe items, but conveyed an understated, almost unisex chic that was extremely well accepted by executive women on both sides of Atlantics. A perfectionist, Giorgio Armani paid a tremendous attention to details of his garments, using only luxurious fabrics such as cashmere, alpaca, and suede. His input in style is reflected in Peter Pan collars for women, crumpled linen jackets and sloping shoulder for men and low-slung button placement for both men and women. Another invention that causes too much trouble for fashion editors is the elusive neutrals Armani uses each season. The secret lies in a dense weave of five and up to eight strands of beige, or stone, pearl, mink, and sludge colors that create a wonderful “misty” effect, which at a distance merges into a neutral.
However, most importantly, Armani was the first to cancel the stiff “underwiring” of the jacket making it flow easily allowing for an unrestricted yet impeccable cut. Giorgio Armani believes in quality rather than invention, and each season he introduces understated alterations instead of changing his look completely.
Giorgio Armani possesses a great number of prestigious awards, from the Golden Medal from municipality of Piacenza in 1983 to CHristobal Balenciaga Award in 1988; from Golden Effie Award in 1993 to CFDA’s International Designer Award in 1983. Giorgio Armani is a Gran Cavalliere della Repubblica (Italy, 1987) and the Honorary Doctor of Arts in the Royal College of Arts (London, 1988). His most recent retrospective took place in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Today Giorgio Armani is the most successful fashion designer who owns his company from the very first day. It’s a truly Italian family business: Giorgio’s younger sister Rosanna oversees styling and advertisements, and two nieces Roberta and Silvana help him with the designing. His right-hand woman is Gabriella Forte and Leo Dell'Orco, a designer who joined him in 1974. Jackie Kennedy's sister Lee Radziwill is a Public Relations manager of the company. Giorgio Armani lives and works in a XVIth century palazzo on Via Borgonuova in Milan, and he holds all his fashion shows there – all of them on the black runway with the black background. He designs VAIO notebooks for Sony and makes sushi in his chain of Nobu restaurants, he launches and re-launches perfumes and he seduces fashionista from Sydney to Berlin with risotto and tiramisu in Emporio Armani Caffe. He even opened a chocolate boitê Armani Dolce in his Milano headquarters. At nearly 70 years old, there is no sign of slowing down for Giorgio Armani!
Compiled by Natalie Bauer.
Giorgio Armani in Canada:
Giorgio Armani and Armani Collezioni
Holt Renfrew
50 Bloor St. West
Toronto, ON M4W 1A1
(416) 922-2333
A|X Armani Exchange Vancouver
1070 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC V6E1A7
(604)488-1668
Giorgio Armani Cosmetics
Les Ailes de la Mode
677 Ste-Catherine Ouest
Montreal, Quebec H3B 3Y6
(866)276-2640
Giorgio Armani 
