| MATTHEW LYNCH,
EXECUTIVE EDITOR |
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World-building is one of those constructions of modern language that reliably earns an eye roll from your newsletter correspondent. And yet, how else to describe the life and career of Giorgio Armani, the Italian fashion designer who died Thursday at 91? Reading the voluminous tributes and obituaries devoted to Mr. Armani, it’s hard not to be at least a little awed by the totality of his vision and the extent to which he saw it through. As Jessica Iredale wrote in our own appreciation, “Armani built an empire, achieving a level of fame and success—including a personal fortune of around $12 billion, according to Forbes—to which few designers—Ralph Lauren aside—have ever come close. The name Giorgio Armani transcended the man to become a cultural shorthand for suave sophistication and success.”
Elsewhere today, we catalog more of our coverage of Armani throughout the years, including his best red-carpet looks, how he cultivated his mystique, and his Hollywood symbiosis. |
Over the course of his monumental 50-plus-year career, Mr. Armani, as he became known within the fashion industry, was synonymous with many things: his perennial tan, crystal blue eyes, and white hair offset by his studied uniform of navy crewneck, navy pants, and white sneakers; his soft and glamorously cut gray and beige tailoring that defined yuppie, power broker living in the ’80s and ’90s; his prescient cultivation of the Hollywood-fashion symbiosis; and his relentless work ethic and dedication to his business. |
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From Julia Roberts’s iconic menswear moment to George Clooney’s perpetual tuxedo dominance, the Italian designer revolutionized how stars dress on the red carpet. |
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The designer was a longtime fixture in the pages of Vanity Fair. In an October 2000 profile, Armani insisted, “Fashion is made by young people. Not old gentlemen.” That, of course, proved to be untrue. |
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