37 Times Giorgio Armani Left His Mark on Hollywood Style
Giorgio Armani, the Italian fashion titan who died this week at age 91, revolutionized fashion in Hollywood—forever changing how celebrities (and, by osmosis, the rest of us) get dressed up.
Mr. Armani did it first by transforming the suit jacket, softening its lines and thereby maximizing its sensuality, and then putting those suit jackets on Richard Gere in 1980’s American Gigolo, a film about a Beverly Hills escort who makes his living on the fringe of rich-and-famous society. He did it again nearly a decade later when he turned the Academy Awards into his own cottage industry, becoming the go-to designer for Oscar hopefuls: Diane Keaton, Jodie Foster, Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Martin Scorcese, Viola Davis, and Brendan Fraser all won their accepted their gold statuettes while wearing Armani, to name just a few. Indeed, an Giorgio Armani tuxedo or sequined gown just may be the closest thing an Oscar-nominated actor has to a good luck charm.
“I was interested in seeing actors as people, instead of distant, unapproachable deities,” Mr. Armani, who loved film even as a child, told System magazine last year. He designed more costumes for films like Casino, Shaft, and The Wolf of Wall Street. He dressed musicians, too, bringing the likes of Eric Clapton, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga to his vision of Hollywood glamour for a new age.
Scroll on to check out the best Armani celebrity style moments, from the 1980s through 2020s.
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Armani the brand turns forty years young this year. Armani the man is in his eighties. Both of which are impressive facts. but what’s really kind of remarkable (and inspiring as hell to anyone who dreams of his own second act) is that when you do the math, you realize that Giorgio Armani was once a completely unknown forty-something striver, still trying to figure out who and what he wanted to be. GQ’s Michael Hainey sits down for a rare in-depth interview with the godfather of fashion.
