Giorgio Armani Dies at 91: Fashion Icon and LGBTQ+ Mogul Remembered

Giorgio Armani, one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th and 21st centuries, has died at the age of 91, Reuters has reported.

The Armani Group confirmed the news in a statement on Thursday (4 September):

“With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani.”

Armani, who was openly gay, built his fashion empire from the ground up after founding his namesake company in 1981. Over more than four decades, the brand grew into a global powerhouse with an annual turnover of €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion USD). In 2024, the South China Morning Post listed him as the richest LGBTQ+ business mogul in the world.

Renowned for his impeccable eye for detail, Armani was known to personally oversee every element of his brand’s operation — from advertising campaigns to last-minute adjustments backstage at fashion shows.

A private life, later shared

After decades of keeping his private life discreet, Armani opened up in 2024 about his long-term relationship with his business partner, Sergio Galeotti. Speaking to Corriere della Sera, he recalled:

“We met near the Capannina night club, in Versilia, where I was on holiday for a couple of days. I saw Sergio in his car and I immediately fell for his Tuscan smile.”

The pair were together through the 1970s and early 1980s until Galeotti’s death from an AIDS-related illness in 1985.

Controversial remarks

Armani occasionally courted controversy, including in 2015 when he told the Sunday Times Magazine that gay men should not “dress homosexual.” He added:

“A homosexual man is a man 100%. He does not need to dress homosexual. When homosexuality is exhibited to the extreme – to say, ‘Ah, you know I’m homosexual,’ – that has nothing to do with me. A man has to be a man.”