Giorgio Armani

Armani is a lifelong bachelor who was so busy with his career that he did not have time for women. He is very close to his siblings and their children. His sister, nieces and nephews work in his company.

Giorgio Armani was born as the middle child of Maria Raimondi and Ugo Armani in the Italian town of Piacenza. His father was a shipping manager and he grew up in a humble background.

He developed an interest in human anatomy from an early age and this motivated him to pursue a medical profession. After high school, he enrolled in the Department of Medicine at the University of Milan, but left after three years to join the army in 1953.

He found a job as a window dresser in a departmental store in Milan after being discharged from the army. He then worked as a salesman in the menswear department where he remained for seven years and learned about fashion designing and marketing.

He joined the Nino Cerutti company in the mid-1960’s as a designer for menswear. At the same time, he also began freelancing and sent his designs to various other garments manufacturers.

During the late 1960’s he met Sergio Galeotti, an architectural draftsman, with whom he established a long term personal and perfessional relationship. It was Galeotti who inspired him to open his own office in 1973.

All through the early 1970’s, Armani freelanced for a number of better known fashion houses like Allegri, Hilton, Gibo, etc. which ensured his designs reached a wider customer base.

His success as a freelancer motivated him to create his own label. Along with his friend Galeotti, he formed the Giorgio Armani S.p.A in Milan in 1975. He presented a range of ready-to-wear collection for both men and women for Spring and Summer 1976 under his own name.

His first biggest achievement was the founding of his company Giorgio Armani S.p.A in Milan in 1975. As on today, the company sells not just apparels, but also perfumes, watches and accessories. The company also operates a range of hotels, restaurants, and cafes worldwide.

Following the immense success enjoyed by his Italian company, he opened the U.S branch, Giorgio Armani Corporation in New York in 1979. The company makes and sells apparels for men, women and children, and also licenses its name to manufacturers of perfume and accessories.

He also found great success as a fashion designer for movie stars. Till date he has designed costumes for over a 100 films, the most notable of them being Richard Gere’s ‘American Gigolo’ (1980) which established him in Hollywood.