Fashion designer Giorgio Armani dies

Iconic fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91.

The fashion house confirmed he died on Thursday at his home, The Associated Press reported.

“With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani,” the company said in a statement, according to Sky News.

Known as “Re Giorgio” or “King George,” Armani was the “creative and business force behind one of fashion’s last great independent empires,” the AP said.

He was recently hospitalized with an undisclosed and was advised by his doctors not to attend the annual Armani Privé fall/winter collection debut, the first time since its start 20 years ago, the AP reported in July.

Armani had also missed an earlier Milan Fashion Week for the first time this year.

He had been planning to celebrate 50 years of the fashion house at the upcoming Milan Fashion Week that was scheduled to be held later this month, the AP reported.

On Wednesday, the company announced the Armani/Archivio, “a living legacy, rooted in the present and looking towards the future.” A curated selection of the archive was shared online with original ensembles to be presented at the brand’s flagship stores in Venice, Milan, Paris, Los Angeles, New York and other cities.

The AP said, "Armani put Italian ready-to-wear style on the international fashion map in the late 1970s, creating an instantly recognizable relaxed silhouette."

He had said, “I design for real people. There is no virtue whatsoever in creating clothes and accessories that are not practical."

Not only did he produce iconic clothing, but he also put his name on accessories, home furnishings, perfume, cosmetics, books, flowers and chocolate, according to the AP. He was worth more than $10 billion at the time of his death and was among Forbes’ list of the worlds’ top 200 billionaires.

Armani was born in Piacenza south of Milan in July 1934. He had planned of becoming a doctor but a part-time job as a department store window decorator changed his path.

He and his partner Sergio Galeotti sold their car for $10,000 in 1975 to start their ready-to-wear menswear company. They followed up the next year with a womenswear line.

He launched his simple liningless sports jacket, paired with a t-shirt, was something he called “the alpha and omega of the fashion alphabet.”

Armani also was credited with creating the woman’s “power suit” that was the uniform for a businesswoman in the 1980s.

He became a Hollywood heavyweight thanks to the film “American Gigolo” where Richard Gere was clothed in Armani, making the designer one of the most sought after in Tinseltown both on and off the screen during awards season.

Armani had more than 200 wardrobing film credits and was memorialized on Rodeo Drive’s “Walk of Fame” in 2003, the AP reported.

Sky News reported that a funeral chamber will be set up in Milan this weekend, with a private ceremony to occur at a later date.

In addition to his fashion house, Armani owned bars, clubs, restaurants, two hotels and his own basketball team, the AP reported. Armani’s legacy left behind a company which has more than 9,000, seven industrial hubs and more than 600 stores.

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