Giorgio Armani (born 11 July 1934 in Piacenza) is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.600 billion, and a personal fortune of $5 billion.

Fashion career

From 1961 to 1970, Armani worked as an assistant designer at a fashion house Nino Cerruti, where he designed for the menswear label "Hitman". In 1970, he left the company to pursue freelance work. He partnered with Sergio Galeotti to establish a menswear label Armani in 1974, and introduced a womenswear line in 1975. His sister Rosanna Armani subsequently joined him. Galeotti died of a heart attack due to AIDS in 1985 at his home in Milan,

Armani achieved his international breakthrough by tailoring for numerous Hollywood names and especially for Richard Gere in the title role of American Gigolo in 1980. In 2001, Forbes named him the most successful Italian designer and estimated his net worth at $1.7 billion. He was given the same award five years later, as the magazine estimated his fortune at $4.1 billion.

Innovations

Armani was the first designer to ban models with a body mass index (BMI) under 18, after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa.

The Armani Privé spring/summer 2007 fashion show was broadcast via MSN and Cingular cellular phones.

After LG teamed with Prada to introduce the LG Prada phone, Samsung joined Armani to design the Giorgio Armani phone.

Armani designed made-to-measure suits for Christian Bale's character Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight. Advertisements featuring 'Giorgio Armani for Bruce Wayne' were released in 2008 with pictures of Christian Bale wearing Armani suits. However, Bale later claimed in a GQ interview that the campaign was produced without his permission.

In sport

Giorgio Armani has a keen interest in sports. He is the president of the Olimpia Milano basketball teamand an Inter Milan fan, and twice designed suits for the England national football team. He has since designed suits worn by players of the London club Chelsea since August 2007. He designed the Italian flag bearers' outfits at the opening ceremony at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Armani also designed and introduced the EA7 range, a brand inspired by Ukrainian footballer Andriy Shevchenko, who at the time played for AC Milan and wore number 7 jersey.

Other businesses

Armani opened his first restaurant in the U.S., Armani/Ristorante. The restaurant opened in New York in February 2009 and has been rated by the Zagat Survey.