Giorgio Amani, the legendary Italian fashion designer who died recently had wonderful experiences working with black models in the fashion industry. He featured several of them but notable ones among them include Madisin Rian, Maria Borges, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks. Amani died a billionaire at the ripe age of 91 and as the formidable face of Italian styles having successfully re-invented men’s and women’s suit for a modern audience.
He transformed his business from a strict fashion outfit into a wider all-embracing behemoth operating in diverse areas spanning beauty, fragrance, music, and sport and luxury hotels. He was estimated to be worth about £2 billion. Madisin Rian was the first Black woman to be the face of Armani Beauty. And in 2015, Maria Borges, Angolan, who was also the first black model to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show resplendent in her natural hair also worked with Amani.
And supermodel Naomi Campbell, featured many times on the catwalk donning Georgio Amani gears. Similarly, notable black models like Tyra Banks, also walked for the Amani brand. In the 1991, at a Giorgio Armani Spring 1991 ready-to-wear show, Kimora Lee Simmons also walked the runway. Announcing the legend’s demise, his company talked about their immense loss, his dedication to duty and how he worked tirelessly till the very end.
Armani remained the CEO and sole shareholder of his company until his death, according to the Financial Times of London. “With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani. Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by his employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones. Indefatigable to the end, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections, and the many ongoing and future projects,” said the company in a social media post.
The company added that Amani’s was a kind of a maverick whose independence of thought and action remained his hallmark. His luxury fashion house, which actually bore his name Armani, turned 50 this year, having been established in 1975 in Milan, Italy, with his partner Sergio Galeotti. Till he passed, Armani remained the CEO and sole shareholder of his company. Armani’s story is relatively one of rags to riches. He was hardworking and was totally dedicated to his craft. Born in Milan, Armani reportedly worked as a buyer and a menswear designer before starting his own business.
He started a fashion house with a meagre &10,000 according to the Financial Times. “My initial goal was to dress people but from there I moved naturally into other areas, because I wanted to offer those entering the Armani world a unique experience. I have in fact created a lifestyle that I would define as a world of natural sophistication, in which nothing is over the top but everything finds a balance that, while whispered, is rich in personality,” he declared in the interview with the Financial Times.
