By Anne Leader
Happy Birthday Giorgio Armani! The Italian fashion designer was born on 11 July 1934 in Piacenza. Armani began his career in menswear, reimagining suit coats in a way that led to his nickname as the “Sexy Tailor.’ Armani’s color choices derive from the Italian modernist Giorgio Morandi, whose paintings rely on a neutral palette of beiges, grays, and smoky blues. He launched Giorgio Armani SpA with Sergio Galeotti (d. 1985) in 1975, and his designs were showcased at Barney’s New York the following year. Armani famously dressed Richard Gere in American Gigolo (1980) and remains popular in Hollywood and New York for red-carpet events.
Diane Maglio. “Armani, Giorgio.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press.
Evening dress, fall/winter 1994-5, silk and plastic. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Giorgio Armani, 1997
Suit, 1984, flax, silk. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Carol R. Reiss, 1994
Tuxedo, 1990-7, wool, silk. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Richard Slusarczyk in memory of Richard Martin, 2001
Penelope Cruz in sky blue Armani dress, 84th Academy Awards (2012), Hollywood
Richard Gere and Jessica Chastain in Armani, 85th Academy Awards (2013), Hollywood
Gia Carangi in Giorgio Armani, 1980. © Armani, photos by Aldo Fallai.