Renowned Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91.
Armani ”worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections and the many ongoing future projects”, a statement on the brand’s Instagram page read.
It also said he was “indefatigable to the end” and “driven by relentless curiosity and a deep attention to the present and to people”.
Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni also paid tribute, saying: “With his elegance, sobriety, and creativity, he was able to bring lustre to Italian fashion and inspire the entire world.
“An icon, a tireless worker, a symbol of the best of Italy. Thank you for everything”.
The brand Armani, which began as a fashion company, expanded into beauty, fragrance, music, sport, and even luxury hotels, while as a revered businessman, his company brought more than £2bn a year.
Donatella Versace in a tribute tribute to the late designer on her Instagram page, posting a picture of him, saying: “The world lost a giant today, he made history and will be remembered forever”.
Actor Russell Crowe described Armani as a man who “made a mark acknowledged around the globe”.
The actor said he “adored” Armani and was meant to be seeing him this month, adding that the designer was there for “so many significant moments in my life”.
In a profile in The Financial Times, in one of the designer’s last interviews, Alexander Fury wrote: “He put women into a uniform of suits just as radical as Chanel’s, creating forceful, confident clothing that helped to power the working woman’s social revolution of the 1980s.
“By contrast, he relaxed menswear, deconstructing traditional tailoring in a manner that has affected how just about every suit in the world is made”.
