How Giorgio Armani built a multibillion-dollar fashion empire

Giorgio Armani leaves a legacy not only as a seminal figure in the history of fashion, but also as a visionary business leader who built a globally recognized brand and multibillion-dollar business empire, industry experts said after his death Thursday at age 91.

"Armani made certain that his vision was consistent and that it was always classy, even down to presentation in the Armani Exchange stores," Shawn Grain Carter, an associate professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, told CBS MoneyWatch.

Armani, or "Re Giorgio" (King George) as the Italians call him, famously created luxury looks for Hollywood stars, while also producing stylish accessories and clothing for everyday consumers.

While meticulously tailored clothing made from quality fabrics has always been at the heart of the Armani brand, the designer expanded his business over the years to include not just perfumes and accessories but home furnishings, cosmetics, books, flowers — even chocolates. Connecting them all was sophisticated design, which Armani wove into all things he put his name on.

"He was masterful in sticking to his vision, but executing it in a way that would be accessible luxury, a quiet luxury, but still tasteful and elegantly crafted," Grain Carter said.

Among Armani's most celebrated contributions and successful business maneuvers was the power suit, a softly tailored, ready-to-wear take on office attire that quickly rose in popularity among the American business class.

Introduced in the '70s, the Armani suit was a bold deviation from the rigid, restrictive suits businessmen were accustomed to wearing. Armani's elegantly tailored suits quickly became a must in every well-heeled man's closet.

Beth Dincuff, an associate professor at New York's Parsons School of Design, said Armani cultivated the idea of a "sophisticated man who cared about how he looked, who was aware of his physique and who wanted to show it off in a new way."

Armani soon brought that masculine sensibility to women's fashion with the pantsuit, a shoulder-padded jacket and tailored trousers. This gave women a refined option for the office that projected confidence and power.

"That's attributed to Giorgio Armani — making it OK for a woman to wear a pantsuit but still look like a woman in terms of a power aesthetic," said Grain Carter.

Armani's designs also had a knack for tapping into the zeitgeist. He told CBS News in 2006 that his new line of women's clothes was in response to the feminist movement. Women needed their own version of the traditional men's suit jacket, Armani thought.

Using celebrities to elevate the Armani brand was another to key to the designer's business success. He began by outfitting Richard Gere in the 1980 neo-noir crime drama "American Gigolo." Armani went on to design clothes for more than 150 films throughout his career.

"His idea to reach out to celebrities was very, very important," said Dincuff, noting that this approach to marketing fashion was novel at the time.

Armani pivoted to dressing celebrities on the red carpet in the 1990s, where his black-tie outfits and glittering evening gowns often stole the show. Some early looks that captured popular attention included the oversized Armani suit worn by Julia Roberts at the 1990s Golden Globes and a champagne-colored Armani suit that Jodie Foster wore at the 1992 Academy Awards.

The list of celebrities that have worn Armani on the red carpet is long and includes Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Pfeiffer, Margot Robbie and Winona Ryder.

Central to Armani's success was the fact that he never relinquished control of the multibillion company he created, experts told CBS MoneyWatch. In rejecting a merger or sale to a larger industry rival, the Italian fashion designer was always his own boss.

This allowed Armani to maintain creative control and consistency over his expanding business empire, distinguishing him from other designers.

While he did strike several licensing deals over his career with companies like EssilorLuxottica and L'Oréal, he kept the majority of his business portfolio in-house. That included everything from Armani Privé, his haute couture fashion collection and fragrance line, to Armani Exchange — a more affordable fashion line geared toward younger generations, said Grain Carter. Armani also kept the collections Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani under his purview.

"All of this was in-house and he controlled it from concept to production to distribution to marketing to how it is financed," Grain Carter said. "He was active at every level, at every step."

Today, the Armani empire has more than 9,000 employees along with seven industrial hubs and over 600 stores worldwide, according to figures released in 2023.

As for potential succession plans, the Giorgio Armani company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"I cannot really contemplate the next person, because there will be no other Giorgio Armani," Grain Carter said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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