Giorgio Armani Celebrates 40 Years Of Business

We look back at Giorgio Armani’s best ever moments to celebrate 40 years of his Italian megabrand...

Giorgio Armani is marking 40 years of his fashion empire this year, kicking off 40 weeks’ worth of celebrations with an exclusive new website, ‘A Tribute’ back in March, and now, releasing a glossy new self-titled book. 

Charting the brand’s most beautiful fashion moments of the last four decades, expect rare insights into Mr Armani’s private world, plus a closer look at the work of the man whose name is now synonymous with fine tailoring. See a fabulous selection of the designer’s childhood snaps in the gallery above and take a look back at some of our favourite ever Armani moments below…

1980: Richard Gere In American Gigolo Just five years after he launched his label, Armani’s name went global when he dressed man of the moment Richard Gere in the hit film American Gigolo. Dressing the ultimate Hollywood heartthrob, Armani became the go-to brand for men who wanted slick and powerful suits in the Eighties.

1990: Julia Roberts At The Golden Globes Julia Roberts brought androgynous cool to the red carpet in 1990, choosing a matching Armani suit to her co-star Kiefer Sutherland as she picked up the award for her performance in Steel Magnolias. The major statement is still considered one of the best red carpet moments of all time, and cemented Mr Armani’s status as a designer who pushed boundaries.

1992: Jodie Foster At The Oscars Oscar winner Jodie followed in Julia’s footsteps when she scooped the Best Supporting Actress prize for her performance in Silence of the Lambs. At just 28, she showed Hollywood who was boss in her pink power suit.

2009 David Beckham’s Underwear Remember this? Originally an Emporio Armani pants man, Giorgio tapped David’s, erm, talents for his first ad campaign (draped, larger-than-life down the front of Selfridges) in 2009. How to top that performance? Armani later got Victoria involved too, of course…

2010: Lady Gaga At The Grammys Having originally built his world around tailoring, it’s a credit to Mr Armani’s broad vision that he is also able to create wow looks like this, for Lady Gaga at the Grammys in 2010. He went on to create an entire wardrobe for Gaga’s sell-out Monster Ball world tour, showing that he’s a master of the avant-garde as well as our real-life wardrobe essentials.

2014: George Clooney’s Wedding A fan since his days on ER, George Clooney is rarely spotted in a suit that isn’t Armani. When better to confirm his dedication to the brand, than on his wedding day to Amal Alamuddin last year?

2015: Madonna’s Brits Cape That cape. THAT CAPE! Yes, Mr Armani was the designer behind Madonna’s greatest sartorial challenge to date. Forget the cone bra, or any of her other outlandish style statements over the years, Madge had the mother of all malfunctions when she simply tied her cloak on too tightly and took a tumble at the 2015 Brit awards.

See our review of the Giorgio Armani AW15 show, here.