“My greatest weakness is that I am in control of everything,” Giorgio Armani told the Financial Times in the final interview before his death, published last weekend. But it was this control that made the Italian designer who he was: a true fashion icon.
The iconic designer passed away aged 91 this Thursday, following several recent health battles. These battles meant that Armani was absent from the three fashion shows he staged in Milan in June and July.
He was resting, preparing for a big occasion. This month marks the 50th birthday of his eponymous brand. Anniversary celebrations were set to take place at Milan fashion week in late September, with Armani planning to unveil an exhibition at the Pinacoteca di Brera. His death comes just weeks before the official milestone.
Over the course of his life, Armani has dressed countless stars, from Diane Keaton in the 1970s to Zendaya in the 2020s. In a piece for W Magazine, writer Carolyn Twersky Winkler says the Italian designer “revolutionised celebrity dressing”. In the 1990s, so many people wore Armani on the red carpet at the Oscars that Women’s Wear Daily referred to them as “The Armani Awards.”
As well as runways and red carpets, Armani was also a huge name in the world of cinema. He designed costumes for American Gigolo, The Untouchables and Goodfellas.
Here, we look back at some of the greatest gifts he gave to fashion.
1981: Grace Jones
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Could it be one of the most iconic album covers of all time? Probably. For the cover of her album Nightclubbing, Grace Jones donned a broad-shouldered suit by Giorgio Armani. She was photographed by Jean-Michel Goude.
1989: Jodie Foster
One of Armani’s earlier celebrity muses was Jodie Foster, who he dressed in a white tuxedo with sparkling pants and satin gloves for the 1989 Academy Awards. She took home the Oscar for Best Actress that night for her role in The Silence of the Lambs.
2001: Benicio del Toro
When Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro accepted his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Traffic in 2001, he did so in an Armani tuxedo.
2005: Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron specifically requested to wear this Armani gown to the SAG Awards in 2005 after seeing it walk in Armani’s first-ever Privé collection.
2007: Katie Holmes
Katie Holmes has worn Armani on many occasions, including during her wedding to Tom Cruise in 2006. But her ultra-romantic 2007 Vanity Fair Oscars after-party dress is a particular highlight.
2008: Victoria Beckham
The Met Gala’s 2008 theme was Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, with Armani acting as one of the night’s co-chairs. For the event, he dressed Victoria Beckham in a white, sheer beaded dress from his fall 1989 collection.
2010: Lady Gaga
Gaga and Armani might not seem like natural bedfellows, and his work on the singer’s 2010s Grammys look pushed the designer well out of his comfort zone — with amazing results.
2018: Cate Blanchett
It doesn’t get more red carpet than this. Cate Blanchett wore this plunging Armani black gown, lined with white ostrich feathers, for the 2018 premiere of A Star is Born at Venice Film Festival.
2024: Zendaya
Two legends of red carpet dressing united in 2024, when Zendaya wore a gown by Armani Privé to the 2024 Academy Awards. The antique-style pink gown with gunmetal paillettes was a notably more old Hollywood glamour look for the star, who had spent much of 2024 method dressing.
