September 4th, 2025, was an especially sad day for both Italy and the global fashion industry. Italy had lost one of its most iconic sons and the fashion world had lost a design genius in its midst. It was the day that Giorgio Armani died in Milan, the city that for decades he’d made home and the epicentre of his fashion empire.

Armani was unique, ushering in fashion trends that have lasted to this day and a man was always true to his design aesthetic. His work and brand transcended continents, decades and styles, ensuring his legacy as one of the eminent icons of the fashion industry.

This is Tieroom’s tribute to il maestro, Giorgio Armani.

Giorgio Armani’s Early Years

Giorgio Armani was born on July 11th, 1934, in the town of Piacenza, situated in the Emilia- Romagna region of northern Italy. Armani’s family was decidedly middle class, since his father was a shipping manager. Life in a pre-war Italy ruled by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini only became harder for many Italians once World War II broke out. He spoke in a 2017 Harper's Bazaar interview about how “there was no money and nothing to eat.”

The defining influence in Armani’s youth was the silver screen. In his own words, “The cinema in Milan was a refuge - a palace of dreams - and the movie stars seemed so glamorous. I fell in love with the idealized beauty of Hollywood stars.” It would be the glamour and sophistication that was a hallmark of Armani’s entire career.

Armani had intended to become a doctor but would abandon medical school at the University of Milan to pursue his true passion - fashion. He learned the trade by working first as a window dresser and then as a buyer for the La Rinascente department store in Milan from 1957-1964. That was followed by his first foray into becoming a fashion designer commenced with his apprenticeship in men’s apparel at the atelier of the famous Italian designer, Nino Cerruti. It also allowed him to gain invaluable experience in the marketing side of fashion.

The Emergence of Giorgio the Designer

It was only on July 24th, 1975 that Armani would finally launch his own fashion house, Giorgio Armani S.p.A. He did so with the help of his friend and business partner, Sergio Galeotti. Giorgio felt he was finally ready to launch his own couture lines, already being 38 years old by then. That was quite an advanced age for someone to get their own fashion brand, when one considers how many designers today start their own fashion houses when still in their early 20s.

His first collection was a men's clothing line, which debuted in 1975. A year later, he would launch a women's collection which would get positive reviews. Fashion critics and the fashionable set of Milan were taken in by his clean and unfussy lines, natural fit and subtle, even muted colour palette. These were considered almost revolutionary fashion choices for the mid-1970s. He would later explain to Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) that, “My vision was clear: I believed in getting rid of the artifice of clothing. I believed in neutral colors.”

American Gigolo and the Armani Look

Armani’s crossover into the all-important American market didn’t take that long at all. The first actress to wear an outfit of his was Diane Keaton when she wore a double-breasted jacket with a long and layered striped skirt at the 1978 Academy Awards. Keaton’s signature look, which had already become the leading trend in women’s fashion that season, would get even more exposure when she won the Oscar that night for Best Actress for her legendary performance in Woody Allen’s comedy, Annie Hall, itself that year’s winner for Best Picture. The stars were certainly aligning for Armani.

However, the real turning point for Armani came when his men’s clothing was featured in the 1980 film, American Gigolo. The film would display the louche excesses of what would define the 1980s. The California mansions, the luxury cars, the synth-heavy film score by another Italian called Giorgio (Moroder) and hit theme song ‘Call Me’ by Blondie came together in a perfect storm that captured the zeitgeist of the era. But it was the suits and outfits worn by Richard Gere at his most sexy and handsome that really set the tone of the film. And it was all Armani.

Gere’s outfits in the film were mostly relaxed-looking suits in tones of golden tan and moss green worn with tight button-down shirts and often trousers in chocolate brown or other tone different to the blazer. Armani’s use of linen made the outfits more effortless, providing a relaxed silhouette that was sensual yet masculine. The Armani look was synonymous with Gere’s gigolo character. As Paul Schrader, the film’s director, would later say to GQ magazine, “To me, the clothes and the character were the same.”

The 1980s & 1990s, the Armani Era

It was Hollywood throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s that further established Armani as the name synonymous with the best in Italian fashion. Armani designed much of the wardrobe for the hit television series, Miami Vice, which ran from 1984 to1989 and made Don Johnson an international star, much of it thanks to his fantastic clothes. Armani clothed Johnson’s character, Sonny Crockett, in unstructured blazers in linen and often in bright pastels, worn together with loose-fitting trousers, usually in white linen. The look was cool epitomised and quintessential 80s fashion.

Armani also designed the wardrobe for The Untouchables, the 1987 Brian de Palma-helmed gangster film set in 1930s Chicago and starring Kevin Costner and Sean Connery.  Hollywood’s biggest stars, both women and men, would often appear on the red carpet proudly wearing sleek and understated Armani couture. These included the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer and Julia Roberts, the latter who famously wore an outsized Armani suit to the 1990 Golden Globes. Jodie Foster would become a huge Armani fan and was wearing an Armani pantsuit in 1992 when she won her second Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Silence of the Lambs.

John Travolta was another huge fan who almost always wore Armani on the red carpet (and who, coincidentally, had been originally slated to play the lead in American Gigolo and whose agent had urged Paul Schrader to use Armani for the film). Other actors who would often be seen in Armani tuxedoes and suits included George Clooney, Denzel Washington and Leonardo di Caprio.

The Armani Fashion Empire & Latter Years

Armani eventually built a fashion empire that would encompass everything from perfumes and accessories, to jeans and sportswear. He also introduced more affordable and highly successful ranges, namely Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange. By 1990, there were 2,000 Armani shops worldwide with annual sales at almost $2 billion.

And then there were the celebrities, whose love affair with Armani continued well into the 2000s, and many of whom also became his friends. The list of famous men who wore Armani at glittering events is endless. These included Samuel L. Jackson and Tom Cruise, who wore Armani at his wedding to Katie Holmes. Russell Crowe was wearing Armani when he won the Best Actor Oscar for Gladiator in 2001, as was Sean Penn when he won Best Actor for a second time for Milk in 2009. And none other than Martin Scorsese was wearing Armani when he finally won an Oscar in 2007 for Best Director for The Departed.

Armani’s relentless work ethic continued into his 70s and even 80s. He designed outfits for Lady Gaga and in 2007 became the first fashion designer to broadcast a haute couture show live via the internet. He was also the first major fashion designer to ban the use of models on his runway who had a body mass index below 18, which is considered unhealthily underweight.

Giorgio Armani & Ties

Given how much of Giorgio Armani focused on suits in his men’s fashion, it makes sense that he also had his own love affair with ties. Like all his fashion, his use of ties had an understated elegance that matched the unpretentious and clean sophistication of his design aesthetic. Armani loved silk ties in particular, and who can blame him, because we here at Tieroom love our silk ties too.

Armani had a preference for ties with narrow knots and wide flares. His choice of ties was those that didn’t dominate an outfit but, instead, complemented the relaxed and deconstructed suits for which he was famous. He disliked the stiffness and pomposity of the ‘power ties’ used in the 1980s and subsequent decades. He opted for more contemporary-looking tie designs, often in drapey silk and which often featured Art Deco motifs or medallion patterns. 

Giorgio Armani was a fashion pioneer with few peers. For five decades he epitomised Italian fashion and taste without equal, with perhaps only Gianni Versace coming close. Armani was able to sustain that for nearly five decades, during which time he became a very wealthy man who remained the sole owner of his own company.

Every collection he presented at his 17th-century palazzo on Via Borgonuovo in Milan was an event and a mainstay of the global fashion scene. That’s because the name Armani was respected for what he had achieved in the industry. He deconstructed the pretence of haute couture with effortless Italian flair. He elevated androgyny and elegance in men’s fashion, with suits that remained resolutely masculine and powerful.  

The fashion industry was never the same after Armani burst onto the scene. His legacy will no doubt continue for decades to come, in the same way as fashion legends such as Chanel and Dior have done. Men’s fashion in particular owes a huge debt to Armani.

Grazie mille, Giorgio.