Giorgio Armani - A Biography.

The Past and the Present
Fashion Designer Giorgio Armani was born on July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, about 50 miles south of Milan, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. He attended medical school for two years, dabbled in photography, fulfilled his military obligations in 1957, then worked in a prestigious department store, La Rinascente, as a window dresser. He joined Nino Cerruti as a designer from 1961 to 1970. Armani began a free-lance design business in 1970 with the encouragement of his close friend Sergio Galeotti, and established his own men’s wear label in 1974. He gradually adapted his designs for women and added a women’s wear line in 1975, in partnership with Galeotti (who passed away in 1985). His sister Rosanna Armani teamed up with Armani as head of communication activities of the company (our picture shows Giorgio Armani with his sister).

Armani, whose relaxed designs for women are inspired by men’s wear, also uses men’s wear fabrics in his sophisticated, unstructured jackets and suits for women. With this approach, Armani has established a new standard of understated elegance: easy-fit garments for women, precisely cut and beautifully tailored.

He is known as a workaholic, who can sometimes be rude and arrogant. His dislike of fellow Italian designers Gianni Versace and Valentino has recently been supressed for the benefit of the international press. In May, 1996, Armani was convicted of corruption in Italy, among other fellow designers like Ferre.

Armani has homes in Broni, Forte dei Marmi, and Pantelleria (Italy), and in St. Tropez (French Riviera).