Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually diversified into music, sport and luxury hotels. By 2001 Armani was acclaimed as the most successful designer of Italian origin, and is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion. In 2010, he opened the Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. He is also the richest openly LGBT person in the world. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Armani has  an estimated net worth of US$9.53 billion, as of 2021. Early years. Armani was born in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, where he was raised with his older brother Sergio and younger sister Rosanna by his mother Maria Raimondi and father Ugo Armani (an accountant for a transport company). While at secondary school at the Liceo Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, Armani aspired to follow a career in medicine, particularly after reading A. J. Cronin's "The Citadel". He enrolled in the Department of Medicine at the University of Milan, but in 1953 after attending for three  years, he left and joined the army. Due to his medical background, he was assigned to the Military Hospital in Verona, where he would attend shows at the Arena. He eventually decided to look for a different career path. Design career. After his stint in the armed forces, Armani found a job as a window dresser at La Rinascente, a department store in Milan in 1957. He went on to become a seller for the menswear department, in which capacity he gained valuable experience in the marketing aspect of the fashion industry. In the mid-1960s, Armani moved to the Nino  Cerruti company, where he designed menswear. His skills were in demand, and for the next decade, while continuing to work for Cerutti, Armani also freelanced, contributing designs to as many as ten manufacturers at a time. In the late 1960s, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, an architectural draftsman, which marked the beginning of a personal and professional relationship that lasted for many years. In 1973, Galeotti persuaded him to open a design office in Milan, at 37 Corso Venezia. This led to a period of extensive collaboration, during which Armani worked as a freelance designer for a number of fashion houses , including Allegri, Bagutta, Hilton, Sicons, Gibò, Montedoro, and Tendresse. The international press was quick to acknowledge Armani's importance following the runway shows at the Sala Bianca in the Pitti Palace in Florence. The experience provided Armani with an opportunity to develop his own style in new ways. He was now ready to devote his energy to his own label, and on July 24, 1975, he founded Giorgio Armani S.p.A. in Milan, with his friend Galeotti. In October of that same year, he presented his first collection of men's ready-to-wear for Spring and Summer 1976 under  his own name. He also produced a women's line for the same season. Because of the democratic nature of the Emporio line, Armani felt that he had to make use of new and unconventional advertising methods. These included television spots and enormous street ads, together with a house magazine that was sent out by mail to consumers, faithful Armani Eagle wearers. Armani also felt that a relationship with the cinema was essential, both for promotional reasons and for the stimulus to creativity. He designed the costumes for "American Gigolo" (1980), the success of which led to a long-term  collaboration with the world of film. Armani designed costumes for more than one hundred films, one of the most important of which was "The Untouchables" (1987). In 1983 the designer modified his agreement with GFT. They began to produce both the Mani line for the United States and his high-end ready-to-wear line, rechristened Borgonuovo 21, after the address of the company's headquarters. During the late 1980s, despite Galeotti's death in 1985, Armani continued to expand commercial horizons and licensing agreements. He opened Armani Japan and introduced a line of eyeglasses (1988), socks (1987), a gift  collection (1989), and a new "basic" men's and women's line for America known as A/X Armani Exchange (1991). After the frenetic expansion of the 1990s (sportswear, watches, eyeglasses, cosmetics, home, and new accessories collections), 2000, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the brand, saw a flurry of investment activity, including stock sales and the acquisition of new manufacturing capacity intended to increase Armani's control over the quality and distribution of his products. Armani's men's and women's skiwear and ski casualwear line was developed in 1995. His 1991 project, A/X: Armani Exchange, represented Armani 's attempt to break into the American mass market, offering lower prices for relaxed chic clothes. In 1996 his long-time friend Eric Clapton composed songs for Armani's fashion shows and has since dressed in Armani. Later that year Clapton opened two "Emporio Armani" stores in New York City. In 1998 Armani hosted a party for Clapton's Crossroads guitar auction. Armani also prepared to break into the Chinese market by opening up his first store in that country in 1998. The small shop in Beijing was followed by a flagship store in Shanghai in 2004 and plans for  40 by 2011. In 2000, Giorgio Armani SpA was introducing new lines of cosmetics and home furnishings, and expanding its line of accessories. At the same time, the Guggenheim Museum in New York hosted an exhibition of Armani's work – a first for a living designer – with average attendance of 29,000 a week. In 2008, Armani designed the bullfighting costume, called the "Goyesco", worn by Spanish bullfighter Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez at the "Corrida Goyesca" in Ronda, Spain. They have also collaborated on several fashion shows and other events. As of 2009, Armani has a retail network of 60 Giorgio Armani  boutiques, 11 Collezioni, 122 Emporio Armani, 94 A/X Armani Exchange, 1 Giorgio Armani Accessori, and 13 Armani Junior stores spread over 37 countries. He has an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a personal fortune of $8.1 billion as of 2017. In 2001 Armani was acclaimed as the most successful designer of Italian origin. Innovations. Armani is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion. Armani was the first designer to ban models with a body mass index (BMI) under 18, after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa. Armani broadcast his collection live  on the Internet, the first in the world of haute couture, on 24 January 2007. The Armani Privé Spring/Summer 2007 fashion show was broadcast via MSN and Cingular cellular phones. Armani has designed many stage outfits for pop superstar Lady Gaga, including those worn on her record-breaking Monster Ball Tour and Born This Way Ball Tour. He has also designed for many high-profile award shows, such as the 52nd Grammy Awards and the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Armani Hotel Collection. Giorgio Armani and Emaar Properties PJSC signed an agreement in 2005 for Emaar Properties PJSC to  build and operate at least seven luxury hotels and three vacation resorts under the Giorgio Armani name. Giorgio Armani would be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the interior design and style of the hotels. The Armani Hotel was opened in Burj Khalifa on April 27, 2010, comprising the bottom 39 floors of the supertall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; it has 160 guest rooms and suites, and 144 residences. Giorgio Armani is also designing the interiors of the Armani Residences, also within the skyscraper, and its specially designed line of products from the Armani/Casa home furnishings collection . Music. Armani Musica presents Emporio Armani Caffè compilations, a series of special CD compilations curated by Giorgio Armani with DJ-sound designer Matteo Ceccarini, offering an eclectic mix of conceptual sounds and underground rhythms. Sport. Giorgio Armani has a keen interest in sports. He is the president of the Olimpia Milano basketball team, and an Inter Milan fan. He has twice designed suits for the England national football team. He has since designed suits worn by players of the London club Chelsea since August 2007. He designed the Italian flag bearers' outfits at the opening ceremony at the 2006 Winter  Olympics in Turin, and also designed Italy's Olympic uniforms for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Armani also designed and introduced the EA7 range, a brand inspired by Ukrainian footballer Andriy Shevchenko, who at the time played for A.C. Milan and wore the number 7 jersey. Chelsea commissioned Armani to create a new look for its Directors' Suite at Stamford Bridge. Beginning in 2021, Giorgio Armani entered into a multi-year sponsorship agreement as an official supplier to Scuderia Ferrari. Armani will provide official and travel ensembles to members of the team in return for brand exposure and association  with the world's number one brand and most popular motorsport team. Personal life. Armani is an intensely private man, but has publicly identified as bisexual. He had a longstanding relationship with his business partner, the fashion designer Sergio Galeotti, who died of a heart attack in 1985. He has some relatives in the United States as well. Giorgio Armani spends much of his time according to family on his over 200 ft yacht and loves sailing.