Italian designer Giorgio Armani, who has died at the age of 91, reshaped fashion for men and women with his archetypal designs.
His luxury brand became an empire of fashion, fragrance, beauty and beyond, wooed and worn by stars and celebrities alike.
Armani turned to fashion after a short career in medicine, setting up his own luxury label in 1975 with his partner Sergio Galeotti.
Armani's style was classic - with refined silhouettes and immaculate tailoring. He reimagined men's and women's suits for a modern audience, blurring gender lines.
"Giorgio Armani was a titan for both men’s and women's clothing and tailoring was his love language," says Melanie Rickey, style director of Good Housekeeping.
"Who are you wearing?"
Armani was a lifelong fan of the cinema and ended up designing for the stars on and off screen.
Understanding the power of publicity, he turned the red carpets of Oscars and movie premieres into a catwalk of couture.
Richard Gere in the 1980 film American Gigolo was "the look that introduced America and by extension, the world to the Armani suit", says Jo Ellison, British fashion editor at The Financial Times.
"Richard Gere made Armani the most desirable label in menswear and cemented a relationship with Hollywood that saw the designer working on the costumes for more than 200 films. His name was a byword for cool sophistication that surpassed simple fashionability and trends. This suit looks as good today as it did more than 40 years ago."
Laura Ingham, Deputy Director of Vogue's Global Fashion Network, agrees: "There's simply nothing chicer than wearing tailoring or a tux, for a modern take on cocktail dressing. In crisp Armani, she broke the rules – and even now, she looks ahead of the trends. What could be more timeless?"
Rickey recalls Jodie Foster winning her best actress Oscar in 1992 for The Silence of The Lambs, two years after Armani had begun his reign as the de facto Hollywood red carpet designer, with the Oscars even jokingly being called the "Armani Awards".
She says Armani's partner Sergio Galeotti had died of Aids in 1985, and Foster, as a gay woman (albeit at that time under the radar), prominently wearing an Aids ribbon "was a powerful statement".
"As a young gay fashion journalist at that time, I loved seeing Jodie Foster in a trouser suit that had chic and sparkle but was still boyish and elegant, the hallmarks of Armani style."
Acheampong points to more recent examples too: "Zendaya embodied old-Hollywood glamour when she attended the 2024 Oscars wearing an antique rose and gunmetal Armani Privé one-shoulder gown embellished with sequined palm-tree embroidery. The sleek silhouette, earthy metallic tones, made it a red-carpet-defining moment for her."
She also reflects on his final collection: "The collection entitled "Lumières" commemorated two decades of Armani Privé and was the final show that Armani attended."
"The collection was defined by shimmering, delicate fabrics - weightless organzas, liquid satins, bestrewn with crystals, sequins, pearls, and detailed embroidery."
Additional reporting by Annabel Rackham and Lucy Clarke-Billings
