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Giorgio Armani

“I’ve tried to find a new elegance. It’s not easy because people want to be shocked. They want explosive fashion. But explosions don’t last, they disappear immediately and leave nothing but ashes.”

Giogio Armani is one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century. He studied for two years to become a doctor before finally deciding to take on the world of fashion. He joined Nino Cerruti as a designer in 1961 and it was here that he was able to experiment for nine years with the cut and cloth of menswear. He finally decided to go freelance and was assisted by business partner Sergio Galetti. After realizing his talent, he launched his own menswear collection and only a year later released a womenswear collection as well. His unstructured yet tailored style created with the softest fabrics won him many CFDA awards. Giorgio was the first designer to start dressing Hollywood stars and he also helped invent the global fashion business term: lifestyle. His name and label has branched out to many aspects of the design world, including homewear, cosmetics and a very successful fragrance. Armani is now a byword of the high life of designer fashion. One of his latest projects was collaborating with a Japanese architect to design a headquarters, gallery and theatre, which is where he now shows all of his collections. Armani was also noted for building a mansion on the Caribbean island of Antigua, and being among the first designers to ban models with a body mass index (BMI) under 18, after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa. In 2001, Forbes named Giorgio Armani the most successful Italian designer, estimating his net worth at $1.7 billion. The following year he was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In 2005, Armani was named the "Best Dressed Environmentalist" by the Sustainable Style Foundation. In 2006, he designed the ceremonial Italian flag-bearers' outfits at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Turin, Italy.

Life facts:
Giorgio believes in truth, to be true to himself, his customers and those who have worked for him over the years. This mind set helps Giorgio to obtain his ultimate goal, which is to secure the future of his company. The world offers many different inspirations and he gathers his from travel, cinema, music, art, architecture and diversity. He takes pride in designing for the customer and Giorgio finds evolution a better philosophy than revolution.