Giorgio Armani S.p.A. has become one of the world’s foremost fashion houses providing clothing and accessories for men and women as well as offshoot lines for children (Armani Junior) and the home (Armani Casa). The guiding principal of the company is that clothes are to be worn not just seen and is based on Giorgio’s vision of what everyday people in the street should wear. The designs that have been produced are guided by the designer’s dislike of “Important Clothes” and seem to develop along with the lifestyles of this changing world. This view point produced the prosperity that caused Forbes to declare Giorgio Armani to be world’s most successful designer in the year 2000. http://www.fragrancex.com/products/_bid_Giorgio--Armani-am-cid_perfume-am-lid_G__brand_history.html

Giorgio Armani was born in Piacenza on July 11, 1934. Armani first trained in medicine, but dropped out in 1957 after only 2 years to become a buyer and window dresser for the La Rinascente department store. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Giorgio-Armani-SpA-Company-History.html It was there that Armani got his passion for design and claims that he developed his classic style due to frequent trips to London to see the shops and learn the influence. He relates that on one of these trips he purchased some yellow cardigans and everyone though he was insane because this was what the Duke of Windsor wore not the common man. http://www.fragrancex.com/products/_bid_Giorgio--Armani-am-cid_perfume-am-lid_G__brand_history.html After seven years with the department store Armani then moved into the design field working for Nino Cerruti. Then in 1975 he and his friend Sergio Galeotti established Giorgio Armani S.p.A. The company’s first products were ready to wear clothes for men and women. The company began growing immediately and in 1978 was able to purchase a new office building which also contained Armani’s residence and a theatre for fashion shows. 1979 saw the company establishing itself in the United states and pushing on to become a major factor in the fashion industry. In 1985 Galeotti died of AIDS leaving Armani as sole owner of the company.

Armani is known for his clean, tailored lines and its ability to dress a man as tastefully as a woman.

• Neiman Marcus: Armani Casa

• Saks Fifth Avenue: Armani Jeans