Giorgio Armani, the King of Fashion, disappeared on Wednesday 4 September, at 91 years old. Behind him he leaves a cultural and artistic legacy made of ingenious creativity, dream clothes, memorable fashion shows and a heritage that, according to Forbes, touches 12 billion euros. Armani was still CEO, President, creative director and the only shareholder of the group, which generates around 2.3 billion euros (2.7 billion dollars) of annual turnover.
A historic photo of Giorgio Armani on the eve of a parade
Eric Bouvet/Getty ImagesFrom the origins to “King Giorgio”
Giorgio Armani was born in Piacenza on 11 July 1934, one of the three children of a family led by a father’s father. Raised in an Italy marked by the post -war period, initially he aspired to study medicine, but soon he oriented himself towards fashion. He began as a windowist and then became designers at Nino Cerruti. In 1975, together with his partner Sergio Galeotti, he founded the Giorgio Armani Spa house, who consecrated him as an international icon. The real exploit arrived in the 80s, when Richard Gere wore an Armani suit in the film American Gigolobringing the brand to the worldw of the world. Celebrities like Michelle Pfeiffer and John overwhelmed his creations, consolidating Armani as a reference point for the red carpet and daily luxury.
Armani’s creativity did not limit himself to clothing: his empire expanded to perfumes, glasses and lines like Emporio Armani And Armani Exchangebuilding a global hotel business with hotels, restaurants, coffee and bars, all characterized by the same elegance of fashion. The Armani Hotelsborn in collaboration with Emaar Properties In Dubai, they represent its peak.
Great fans of sport, he designed the uniforms of Chelsea, of the English football national team and the Italian Olympic team in 2012. In recent months, the stylist, who had turned 91 in July, had not attended the men’s and high fashion fashion shows in Paris, an unprecedented absence in over half a century of career due to health problems.

Giorgio Armani with models in the 90s
Vittoriano Rastelli/Getty ImagesA well -defined succession, in the perfectionist style of Giorgio Armani
Armani’s death has left a deep emptiness and questions about the future of the Maison. But “King Giorgio”, scrupulous and perfectionist, had planned everything: the succession was already defined. Famous as a micromanager, he wanted to have a voice in every detail of the fashion empire that founded and led for five decades. “As long as I live, I will be the master,” he said. Over the years, he left clear traces of his will: to guarantee continuity and stability, protecting the company from external climbs without betraying his identity.
The stylist, who did not marry and had no children, also lost his historical companion Sergio Galeotti, who died at 40 years of complications related to AIDS. He had long predisposed a gradual transition of the guide to the most faithful collaborators and family members, ensuring the continuity of his vision. In the past he declared: “I prepared the succession plan with my usual pragmatism and well -planned discretion, but I will not reveal it now because I am still in circulation”. In an interview with Financial Timeshe spoke of a “gradual transition” of power, to be implemented alive to avoid breakages in management.

Giorgio Armani with Leonardo DiCaprio and Roberta Armani
Dimitrios KambourisThe pivot: the Armani Foundation
The heart of the successor system is the Armani Foundation, created almost ten years ago with the direction of the trusted partner and manager Pantaleo “Leo” of the Ocohead of the male style office and alongside the designer for over 45 years, and the banker Irving Bellotti (Rothschild Italy). Legally, Armani held 99.9% of the group, while 0.1% was headed by the Foundation. But that small statutory piece is, in fact, the key that ensures the future of the brand.
His declared goal was to “safeguard the governance” of the assets of the Armani group and to ensure that they remained consistent with the principles that were “particularly important” for him. In 2017 the stylist declared to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera That such a mechanism was necessary to help its heirs to get along and prevent the group from being purchased by others or dismembered. Giorgio Armani did not want his creature to end up prey to purely financial logic as happened to other historical brands of luxury and fashion. The system of the share categories, the centrality of the Foundation and the presence of the closest grandchildren and collaborators are tools to preserve the autonomy and Italianness of the brand.
“In this company we have always felt part of a family. Today, with deep emotion, we perceive the void left by those who founded and guided this family with vision, passion and dedication. Precisely in his spirit, employees and family members who have always worked alongside Giorgio Armani commit themselves to protecting what he built and carrying out the company in his memory with respect, responsibility and love “, said employees in their farewell to the great designer.

The stylist with his nephew Silvana Armani and Leo Dell’Orco
Victor Virgile/Getty ImagesThe companion, the sister and grandchildren: the key figures of the brand and the “Armani method”
According to the 2016 document, revised in 2022, the Foundation will be the guarantor of the structure and respect for the designer’s willingness. A system of six categories of shareholders has been provided (from A to F), with differentiated rights, but equal in dividends. Some partners, the closest to Armani, will have the right to vote strengthened and the possibility of appointing the CEO. Some figures stand out in the future governance: it is a limited group of trusted family and collaborators, selected precisely to ensure that the “Armani method” is not distorted by exclusively financial logic.
Silvana and Roberta Armani, daughters of his brother Sergio, who died years ago; Andrea Camerana, born in 1970, son of his sister Rosanna and already on the board since 2017; Leo Dell’Orco, historical right arm, Armani’s partner and a key man in stylistic and managerial management. Also Federico Marchetti, founder of Yoox, It is part of the Board of Directors. The grandchildren, including Andrea Camerana and Sergio’s daughters, will play an advisory and participatory role, But Leo Dell’Orco will decide the main creative lines, including the men’s collections and the EA7 line (the name derives from the passion of Dell’Orco for football and Andriy Shevchenko).
Andrea Camerana boasts a direct link with the Agnelli family: his father, Carlo Camerana, was in fact a great -grandson of the founder of Fiat, Giovanni Agnelli, and first degree cousin of Giovanni and Umberto Agnelli. Even his private life has often attracted the attention of the media, especially for the relationship with the singer Alexia (at the registry of Alessia Aquilani). The two met in 2002, on the occasion of the Sanremo Festival. «It was a complicated period, between the tour and the end of my story. We restored when everything was resolved, we started getting to know each other and then we no longer left each other, “the artist confided to Vanity Fair. Three years later, in 2005, the couple was married.
Therefore, ultimately, the figure of Leo dell’Orco emerges as operational and creative cornerstone, while family members will be protected and involved in the management without however having absolute control. It is not clear, for example, who will take the roles of CEO and President, positions that Armani has maintained until the end. The distribution of its 99.9% share in society remains an unknown. Some answers will emerge only with the opening of the will in the next few days, but since it is a private company, there is no urgency to make the plans public on the future of the Armani Empire.
In his will, Armani has established that the stock exchange mergers or prices will not be allowed before five years since his deathensuring a period of stability and protection of the company from potential acquisitions by giants such as LVMH or Kering.

Giorgio Armani with a model group during a historic parade
Andreas Solaro/Getty ImagesThe Armani group: not just fashion …
In addition to the Fashion activity, the assets includes villas, hotels, restaurants, commercial and industrial properties, participations in Essilorluxottica and in Italian Sea Group, in addition to the Armani Silos Foundation and Olympia Basket. Giorgio Armani Spa has 8,700 employees and 623 stores. 2024 revenues reached 2.3 billion euros, with a liquidity of 600 million intended for future growth.
The testament involves the passage of art objects, immobile, a 200 feet yacht and strategic participations in companies and licenses. Last July, the group also developed projects such as the Armani Beach Residences in Ras al Khaimah, in the Arab Emiratesthe first villas in the world signed by its name, in collaboration with Rak Properties and Sie Group. These residences are yet another confirmation of how his style can translate into concrete luxury and comfort experiences, bringing the Armani philosophy beyond clothes and catwalks.
And then there are the Armani Hotel and the Armani Caffè, in several cities in the world, as well as Armani/Dolci, born in 2002 in Milan, or the Armani/Fiori stores, started in 2000. All projects that tell the same story: an idea of ​​coherent elegance, which combines aesthetic, harmony and sensory pleasure. His passion for light in the spaces, for the sea of ​​Pantelleria, for ambient music, for design and perfumes, from “water of Giò” to “yes”, shows how much Armani’s creativity translates into every aspect of daily life and in every investment.
Last week it was also announced that Armani purchased The Capannina di Franceschia historic restaurant in Forte dei Marmi, in the heart of Versilia, where in the 1960s the stylist met his historic business and life partner, Sergio Galeotti. Reading the history of its properties and projects, the image of a man who is famous all over the world emerges, but deeply linked to the places and people he loves. Also the recent platform Armani/Archiveborn to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Maison, is a tangible example of King Giorgio’s desire to leave a cultural and creative legacy: thousands of documented looks and 150 outfits on display at the Pinacoteca di Brera, as a resource for future generations of stylists.
However, the long -term challenge remains open: will the group succeed, without the direct guide of its founder, to maintain that combination of rigor and charm that has made Armani an icon of world luxury? Anyone who takes the reins of the brand will therefore have the arduous task of carrying out the legacy of an icon of fashion and made in Italy, loved and respected all over the world to be stars like Julia Roberts, Cindy Crawford and Victoria Beckham.

Giorgio Armani during a recent parade in Paris in January 2025
Julien de Rosa/Getty Images
Armani with Julia Roberts
Stephane Cardinal – Corbis/Getty ImagesSource: Vanity Fair

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