Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died, Reuters reports. His death was announced by the Armani company on Thursday (4 September).
“With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani,” the fashion house said in a statement. He was 91.
The renowned fashion icon, who was gay, helmed the eponymous Armani company, which he founded in 1981 and grew to a business that turns over some 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) a year, making him the richest LGBTQ+ business mogul in the world, according to a list of LGBTQ+ billionaires published by South China Morning Post in 2024.
He was known for his meticulous attention to detail, and would oversee every single detail of his company, from advertising to fixing models’ hair as they head out on to the runway.
In 2024, after many years of keeping his personal life private, Giorgio Armani opened up about his romantic relationships and told Corriere della Sera about the relationship he had with his business partner, Sergio Galeotti, who he dated for more than a decade.
“We met near the Capannina night club, in Versilia, where I was on holiday for a couple of days,” Armani told the publication. “I saw Sergio in his car and I immediately fell for his Tuscan smile.”
The two men were in a relationship throughout the ’70s and ’80s, until Galeotti tragically passed away from an AIDS-related illness in 1985.
Armani also sparked controversy in 2015 when he commented on how he thought gay men should dress. He made the comments in an interview with the Sunday Times Magazine, during which he said “a man has to be a man”.
“A homosexual man is a man 100%. He does not need to dress homosexual,” Armani said. “When homosexuality is exhibited to the extreme – to say, ‘Ah, you know I’m homosexual,’ – that has nothing to do with me. A man has to be a man.”
According to Reuters, Giorgio Armani had been unwell for some time, and was forced to drop out of his group’s shows at Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week in June 2025.
A funeral chamber will be set up on Saturday and Sunday in Milan, the company confirmed.
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