How rich is Giorgio Armani? And how did his brand start? Let’s delve into the story of the most iconic Italian fashion designer.
The epitome of the self-made man, an artist and entrepreneur that made a fortune with his brilliant brand. Add to all of that a pinch of Italian culture, and you get Giorgio Armani. The international fashion brand, which bears the name of its founder, is one of the leaders in the industry, and has been so for decades.
His founder, the 89 years old Giorgio Armani, started as a window-dresser in Milan for the fashion retail shop La Rinascente. The first time he dressed people instead of windows was in 1965, when he was hired at a historical fashion design company.
Italy has always been renowned for its beautiful fashion products, particularly luxurious ones. Italian fabric can be found only in the best fashion shops around the world, and its reputation was already high when Giorgio entered the industry.
Giorgio Armani as a brand would be born in 1975, ten years after Giorgio first entered the world of fashion. He would found his enterprise with Sergio Galeotti, his partner in life.
While Giorgio took care of the fashion design, Sergio ran the financial side of the business. It’s rumored that it was Sergio that convinced Giorgio Armani to start his own brand, also providing part of the necessary capital.
Shooting for the stars
If there is one man the world of fashion must be grateful to, it’s Sergio Galeotti. By convincing Giorgio Armani to start his line, the industry was changed forever.
Already in the first ten years, Giorgio Armani got firmly established in the world fashion market. Other than clothing, the brand also started a line of perfumes in partnership with L’Oreal. In 1979, the brand was already operating in an international office in the United States.
Sadly, Sergio would not be there to follow Giorgio in his journey. He passed away in 1985 at just 40 years old.
Left alone running the business, Giorgio proved to have learned a lot in the previous years. The brand would keep expanding, opening a line of luxury glasses and a headquarters in Japan.
In the 1980s, Giorgio Armani started what would become another trademark of the brand: dressing Hollywood celebrities for their movies. The first was Richard Gere, for the movie American Gigolò, but the list is extremely long.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Penelope Cruz, Michael Fassbender, Christian Bale… are just some of the celebrities that have worn Giorgio Armani dresses in movie roles.
Giorgio Armani built one of the most successful fashion brands in history. This, of course, has paid out very well for him.
Giorgio Armani is Italy’s 4th richest man, with a net worth of $7.4 billion according to Forbes. For a man that was forced to sell his car to start his business, that is definitely a success story.
