Iconic billionaire Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani died at the age of 91. He was hailed as possibly the most influential fashion designer, who brought Italian elegance to the world, and helped popularize relaxed fashion for men and powerful suits and designs for women.

Armani reportedly “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones” at his home, according to the Armani Instagram account. “Tireless, he has worked until the last days, dedicating himself to the company, to the collections, to the different and always new projects in being and to becoming.”

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The running of his high-end fashion company will be handed to his surviving male partner Leo Dell’Orco, Armani family members, and the company’s current work team, Armani said before his passing.

While his cause of his passing has not yet been publicly revealed, he missed Milan Fashion Week in June 2025 for the first time during his career to recover from an undisclosed condition, The Hill reported. Before his passing, he had been planning a 50th anniversary celebration of his fashion house to occur this month during Milan Fashion Week.

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Born into poverty on July 11, 1934 in Piacenza, Italy, he served in the military for two years before becoming a sales clerk and window dresser in a Milan department store. He eventually began designing men’s wear and freelanced for various Italian fashion manufacturers.

In 1975, he co-founded his company with his business and romantic partner Sergio Galeotti. The company also designed women’s wear and quickly developed numerous product lines — like jeans, swimwear, fragrances, cosmetics, home furnishings, and chocolates — for sale in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

The company blossomed into a multi-billion-dollar fashion brand that dressed some of the highest-profile models and Hollywood stars. But, in 1985, Galeotti died from an AIDS-related condition.

Though notoriously private about his personal life, Armani revealed that he had dated women and was deeply affected by Galeotti’s passing.

He said in a 2024 Corriere della Sera interview, “When Sergio died, a part of me died with him. I’m still amazed that I found within myself the resilience to withstand such an immense pain. I had to tap into my willpower to deal with all the pain and anguish. A whole year spent next to Sergio in his hospital bed. And it all happened as our career was taking off, when we were becoming known, setting up our company, reaching worldwide fame. It was the moment I was gaining confidence in myself, then this blow hit me.”

“He is still there all the time,” Armani said of Galeotti in a 2000 Vanity Fair interview. “He is always there in my head. I see him walking down the steps, I see him in the garden, with his cigarette — he is talking to friends. He is always there.”

During the 2024 interview, Armani revealed that he was in a years-long relationship with his live-in partner, Leo Dell’Orco, who served as Armani’s head men’s design.

In 2000, the Guggenheim museum of New York City exhibited a retrospective of Armani’s first 25 years in fashion. Armani now has over 600 stores worldwide. The designer also donated to AIDS charities and was named as a United Nations goodwill ambassador for refugees in 2002.

A funeral chamber in Armani’s memory will honor him this weekend in Milan, Italy, his company said.

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