Giorgio Armani: The Fashion Tycoon Who Redefined Power and Style
Giorgio Armani: The Fashion Tycoon Who Redefined Power and Style
By Meha Saanvi Datla
Illustration by Katrina Dong
Fashion has never been just about clothes. It’s about power, culture, and identity. Over the past five decades, Italian maverick Giorgio Armani transformed how we dress. He created a new normal that is so ingrained, we hardly notice it today. Armani reshaped men’s suits into something fluid, gave women a new form of confidence through tailored pantsuits, and built a multibillion-dollar empire that stretches far beyond clothing. But this was no overnight success; it was the product of years of discipline, vision, and obsessive dedication.
Armani’s story begins in Piacenza, Italy, where he grew up during the hardships of World War II. The devastation he faced growing up fueled his desire to pursue medicine at the University of Milan. However, during his time at school and later as a military doctor, he saw that his fascination with the human body could take him down a different path.
In 1957, he left the army and worked as a window dresser and sales clerk at La Rinascente, a clothing boutique in Milan. By the early 1960s, he had joined the menswear company Hitman under Nino Cerruti, where he honed his tailoring skills. Armani continued freelancing for various labels, hoping to start his own company one day. It wasn’t until he met architect Sergio Galeotti, who encouraged him to start Giorgio Armani S.p.A., and ultimately became the co-founder in 1975.
Armani’s Success Wasn’t overnight; It Was Built on Relentless Dedication to his craft
Known as the “King of the Blazer,” Armani revolutionized tailoring. He removed stiff shoulder pads and canvas linings, letting the natural body shape define the suit. His designs were lighter, more comfortable, and more modern. In 1975, he coined the term “greige” (a mix of grey and beige), which became his signature palette and embodied his minimalist, quiet luxury aesthetic.
But Armani didn’t stop with men. As women entered the workforce in the 1970s and 80s, he introduced pantsuits designed specifically for them. Structured yet feminine, these suits became symbols of confidence and power.
“That’s attributed to Giorgio Armani, making it OK for a woman to wear a pantsuit but still look like a woman in terms of a power aesthetic,” said fashion historian Grain Carter.
Armani later told CBS in 2006 that the feminist movement directly influenced his line.
However, it wasn’t just his eye for suits that allowed him to create this massive empire. It was his business tactics that had never been used before. He was one of the first companies to make use of celebrity marketing. His designs were featured in American Gigolo (1980), where Richard Gere’s sleek wardrobe redefined the power suit with sex appeal. The trend carried into TV with Miami Vice, where pastel Armani jackets over T-shirts became a cultural phenomenon.
“I was one of the first designers to dress stars on and off screen,” Armani said in 2013.
From Jodie Foster’s powder-pink Oscars look in 1992 to the endless list of stars who followed: Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Julia Roberts, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and George Clooney. Armani turned Hollywood into his runway.
Vogue’s Anna Wintour put it simply: “Armani gave movie stars a modern way to look.”
By the 1990s, Armani’s red carpet dominance was unmatched. His designs appeared in films like TheUntouchables, the Batman franchise, and The Wolf of Wall Street, ensuring his name was forever tied to fashion and cinema.
As his influence grew, Giorgio Armani became a household name. His designs stood out not only for their aesthetic and his story, but also for the philosophy behind them. He built clothes with identity. He designed garments that gave people confidence, authority, and a sense of control over how they presented themselves to the world. Armani believed fashion was not just about appearance but about expressing yourself and shaping how others perceive you.
Armani’s passion and dedication meant that every design was created with clear intention. In doing so, he built more than a fashion line; he built a lifestyle. Over time, his brand expanded into fragrances, makeup, accessories, home interiors, and even hospitality, with the Armani Hotel and Armani Café.
Furthermore, he held so much power in fashion because of his relentless attention to detail.
He once said, “I oversaw every aspect of the show remotely via video link, from the fittings to the sequence and the makeup. Everything you will see has been done under my direction and carries my approval.”
That relentless attention to detail elevated his reputation and ultimately made him one of the wealthiest men in Italy, with a net worth of $9.6 billion.
Armani’s independence was legendary. He was the sole shareholder of his company for decades, often describing himself as the “soul creator.” His perfectionism was just as famous.
“If I’ve come this far, it’s thanks to the iron focus and obsessive attention with which I manage everything,” he once wrote.
He created the Giorgio Amrani Foundation in 2016 to keep his legacy, saying there could be no initial public offering or sale until at least five years after his death. He owned “99.9% of his eponymous company”. Yet Armani’s will delivered a surprise.
He instructed his heirs to sell the company he had protected from outside ownership for decades. His directive: sell an initial 15% stake within 18 months, followed by 30–55% within three to five years. Potential buyers named include luxury giants LVMH, L’Oréal, and EssilorLuxottica. This decision marks a striking contrast to his lifelong insistence on autonomy.
For a man who once said, “I created my name, my style, my business by myself,” the sale signals a dramatic shift in the future of his empire.
However, his legacy is far more than his business decisions. Though we may never know why he made that decision, we do know that his impact is undeniable. He changed how people think about clothing: men no longer bound by stiff suits, women empowered through fashion, and celebrities elevated through timeless elegance. His empire may one day belong to corporate giants, but his blueprint remains. Armani proved fashion could be more than style; it could be identity, culture, and power.
