GIORGIO ARMANI

Some fashion brands are recognized worldwide due to their overwhelming appeal. Others are recognized due to their overwhelming price. Armani is a brand that that meets comfortably in the middle.

The man behind the universal fashion brand, Giorgio Armani, was born in Piacenza, Italy in 1934. Unlike many fashion designers who had lifelong aspirations of cementing their place in history, Armani was an aspiring photographer and had a brief stint in the medicinal field. He also joined the military, a far cry from the fashion designer he would later become.

After his time was served in the Armed Forces, Armani began his fashion career as a simple window dresser at a large Milanese department store, La Rinascente. A few years later and a whole lot wiser, Armani realized that he could incorporate his naturally-gifted sense of style and form his own fashion company – but this dream wouldn’t be realized right away.

Following many trips around the Europe, Armani had developed a unique style that he would immediately use to being influencing his own designs. Armed with worldly fashion knowledge and backed by his own keen fashion sense, Armani was taken on as a designer in 1964 by Nino Cerruti’s clothing company, en route to developing his own line and opening his own company in 1974.

Since 1975, the year that Armani exploded onto the scene, the designer has overseen the launch of Giorgio Armani Junior, swimwear, underwear, accessories and occhiali. Armani quickly capitalized on the popularity of his brand during the first decade of operations. And as a way to cater to a broader audience, Armani opened some “lesser” stores in 1981, Emporio Armani and Armani Jeans, which catered more to the everyday crowd. He still kept his high-end boutiques going, and continued to shock the world with his cutting-edge designs and impeccable taste for all things fashion.

At the turn of the century, Armani added a make-up branch to his empire, designed by Pat McGrath. Eight years later, Armani is an all-encompassing brand that employs over 2,000 men and women and rakes in well over a billion dollars annually.

His catwalk shows are considered the most distinguished in the world, and the likes of Robert De Niro, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Sophia Loren, and John Travolta can regularly be seen admiring the fashion.

Although the Armani brand has the respect of the rich and famous, Giorgio insists that the “everyman” is what inspires him to create, not the demands of the rich and famous. It’s this attitude, ironically, that pushes more celebrity clientele his way. Armani sells sunglasses, fragrances, makeup, shoes, handbags, jewelry, clothes, and more. Forbes Magazine declared Armani to be the world’s most successful designer in a 2000 issue. His net worth is around $300-million, and his Armani name is priceless.