Fashion designer Giorgio Armani, whose name became synonymous with luxury, dies at 91

"Giorgio Armani is a name synonymous with luxury. Celebrities have flaunted his fashion on the red carpet for decades. But Armani, who would eventually own a business empire worth billions, grew up without much money. As a child, his mother made all of his clothes. Still, he was the envy of his classmates, as Armani remembered in the 1990 documentary Made In Milan. He looked wealthy even though his family was poor. Armani died Thursday in Milan, according to his family. He was 91."

"In 1975, he founded his Italian luxury fashion house Armani in Milan. Soon after, the movie American Gigolo helped make him a household name in the United States. In that 1980 crime drama, Richard Gere plays a high-end sex worker. The film begins as Gere enters a fancy boutique, complete with a uniformed doorman. The camera ogles Gere as he stands in front of a mirror, trying on a relaxed, single-breasted, two-button brown Armani jacket."

Giorgio Armani was born July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, Italy, and grew up poor with his mother making his clothes, yet he often appeared well dressed. He founded the Milan-based luxury fashion house Armani in 1975 and gained widespread recognition in the U.S. after the 1980 film American Gigolo featured his relaxed, unpadded jackets. Armani popularized softer, more casual silhouettes and colors, creating sculptural garments that highlighted the body. He transformed formal wear and sportswear into comfortable, accessible luxury. He died in Milan at age 91.

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