Giorgio Armani taught men how to suit up. He made men’s tailoring fashionable, comfortable and, above all, soft.
The 91-year-old Italian designer, one of the world’s wealthiest in fashion and the sole owner of Italy’s most successful fashion house, died on Thursday at his house in Rome.
Armani’s legacy goes beyond reinventing garments. He gave the world a timeless aesthetic that resonates across generations. After Coco Chanel, he is arguably the greatest fashion designer to walk on earth.
Armani built a multibillion-dollar global brand from something as simple as an unstructured jacket. Before him, suits were stiff, padded and uncomfortable. He replaced the padded tailoring with soft lines and lightweight materials, such as silk and linen, bringing a feminine touch to men’s tailoring.
His jackets moved with the body instead of against it. And that’s how relaxed formalwear came to life.
Practicality in fashion
These days, fashion often forgets practicality. Runway looks can seem more like art pieces created after smoking pot than something one would actually wear.
In contrast, practicality was one of the building blocks of Armani’s legacy. His designs balanced style with real-world wearability, driven by the belief that there was no value in unwearable fashion.
“Armani’s raw was rarefied. His work is akin to Italian rationalism… Armani’s breed of Italian rationalism found equilibrium between grandeur and simplicity…” wrote journalist Alexander Fury in a 2021 article in GQ.
Contemporary designers continue to draw inspiration from these timeless sensibilities. Many have brought his comfort aesthetic to women’s suits as well.
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Quiet luxury
Armani broke down the walls between formal and casual, setting a new standard for what sophistication can and should be.
Along with comfort, his fashion sensibilities embraced “quiet luxury.” He wasn’t a champion of loud colours or over-the-top luxury. He spoke through minimalistic aesthetics — muted tones and clean lines.
Armani’s breakthrough came with the 1980 film American Gigolo, where Richard Gere’s languid Armani suit brought the brand global visibility.
This page in history became a milestone in Armani’s rise and made power dressing aspirational. From then, his “less is more” philosophy caught on globally, especially on red carpets.
Through the 1990s, Armani refined tailoring with “The Natural,” a softly tailored sack suit characterised by three buttons, higher lapels, and narrow shoulders. But the relaxed form stayed unchanged.
His fluid suiting became a template for ease, while his muted palette – greys, tans, dusty pinks, teals — redefined chic for men.
He put Italian ready-to-wear on the global fashion map in the late 1970s, and his ‘relaxed silhouette’ guided his fashion house for half a century.
There won’t be another Giorgio Armani. But let’s hope his legacy inspires young designers — not to copy, but to create.
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(Edited by Prashant)