After the legendary Italian fashion designer passed away, the question arises as to who will inherit the luxury empire that stretched from his fashion lines to interior design, restaurants, and hotels.
Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by his employees and associates, passed away peacefully at the age of 91, surrounded by his loved ones, the company announced, but did not comment on the cause of death.
The company said that the legendary designer worked until his last days on future projects and collections of the fashion house.
Forbes estimates that Armani was worth approximately 12.1 billion dollars at the time of his death. His wealth primarily came from his 99.9% stake in the luxury fashion house he founded in 1975, after previously working as a designer for Cerruti 1881. Armani generated about 2.4 billion dollars in revenue last year.
The remaining 0.1% is owned by the Armani Foundation, based in Milan, which he founded in 2016 to ensure the continuous management of the company in the future.
Armani also owned a 2% stake in eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica worth 3.2 billion dollars when he died, as well as real estate worth hundreds of millions of euros and the yacht Main worth 29 million dollars.
Who will lead Armani?
In an interview in 2021, Armani previously named Leo Dell’Orco, his right-hand man and head of men’s design in the company, and his cousin Roberta Armani as possible successors who would lead the firm. In another interview, just a few days before his death, Armani said that he was planning a succession that would involve a gradual transfer of responsibilities to those closest to him, including Dell’Orco and family members.
“I always try to maintain a sense of reality and make sure I surround myself with the right people who understand the time we live in,” he said in 2017 for the centennial anniversary issue of the magazine.
“In this business, my team is key. I am the one who decides, but I like to have a lot of other people with whom I can discuss ideas, because that helps in the creative process.”
Giorgio Armani was born into an Italian middle-class family in 1934. He left medical school in the 1950s to serve in the army and did not return after leaving the service.
Instead, he got a job at a department store in Milan, beginning his career in fashion. He went on to work for the fashion house of stylist Nino Cerruti before 1975, founding his own firm with business partner Sergio Galeotti.
Armani became known for his long collaboration with Hollywood, which began after he designed the wardrobe for Richard Gere in the film American Gigolo in 1980.
Since then, the fashion house has designed costumes for dozens of Hollywood blockbusters, including The Dark Knight (2008), The Untouchables (1987), and Goodfellas (1990). Although founded as a haute couture fashion line, the firm successfully expanded into luxury brands such as perfumes, cosmetics, and eyewear, as well as ready-to-wear fashion, including Armani Jeans.
Armani donated about 2.4 million dollars (2 million euros) to hospitals in Milan, Rome, Bergamo, Piacenza, and Versilia, as well as to the Italian Civil Protection Agency. Weeks after the country entered lockdown to fight the virus, he also redirected all production in the company’s Italian factories to making medical overalls.
