Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion icon, dies at 91

Giorgio Armani, the Italian fashion designer who revolutionized menswear and womenswear with his understated elegance, died on September 4 at age 91. Born in Piacenza in 1934, he moved to Milan to study medicine but began his career as a window dresser at La Rinascente. He later worked at Hitman, a men's ready-to-wear factory. His first fashion show was in 1974 at the Sala Bianca in Florence, organized by Giovanni Battista Giorgini. He founded Giorgio Armani SpA in 1975, adding womenswear in 1976, Emporio Armani in 1981, and Armani Privé haute couture in 2005. His partner Sergio Galeotti died at 40. Armani created the color Greige (gray-beige) inspired by the Trebbia River. He owned a villa in Pantelleria with seven dammusi, 200 palm trees, and a vineyard, which inspired Acqua di Giò perfume. He pioneered the deconstructed suit in the 1980s, famously worn by Richard Gere in "American Gigolo" and later by Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street." He also popularized power dressing for women, dressing Diane Keaton at the 1978 Oscars and Jodie Foster in 1992. He founded the Armani/Silos museum in Milan. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli praised him as an ambassador of Italian identity. The Armani Group statement confirmed he worked until his last days. A wake will be held September 6-7 at Armani/Teatro in Milan. Tributes came from Valentino Garavani, Giancarlo Giammetti, and Maria Grazia Chiuri.