Giorgio Armani Designs

Since I need a break from my usual emotional posts, and since famous fashion designer Giorgio Armani passed away today at the age of 91, I decided to compile a list of some of the designer's most beautiful and memorable red carpet looks. 

Armani originally attended medical school in for several years before joining the army in his native Italy. When he left the army, he became a department store sales clerk and window dresser, eventually becoming a seller in menswear, where he learned about both design and marketing. He moved on to a job designing menswear, then became a freelance designer, eventually opening his own office with a partner in 1973, although he continued to design for multiple other firms as a freelancer. In 1975 he opened his own firm and presented both a line of ready-to-wear menswear and a women's line for spring and summer 1976. In 1979 Armani began producing in the United States. In the 1980s he began to branch out into fragrances and cosmetics. He saw the marketing value of cultivating a relationship with Hollywood, pioneering the concept of celebrities wearing designer fashions on the red carpet, and in 1980 he designed Richard Gere's suits for the film American Gigolo. He was also the first high-end design to support the idea of sustainable fashion, and banned models with a BMI under 18 following the death of a runway model due to anorexia nervosa in 2006. 

Armani's designs featured muted colors, relaxed lines, and soft fabrics (often mixing contrasting fabrics like silk and wool), and sophisticated silhouettes. 

Armani's first ever red carpet look was for Diane Keaton at the 1978 Academy Awards. Keaton wore a white blouse, a long full double-layered skirt, a loose-fitting blazer, and a looped scarf, all in shades of ivory, beige, and grey. 

Victoria Beckham wore a 1989 Armani design as co-chair of the 2008 Met Gala. The white, semi-sheer lace gown featured a tuxedo collar, a long center front slit, and narrow drapes in lieu of a train. 

Julia Roberts wore an Armani suit when she won her Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1990. The oversized grey suit  featured wide-legged trousers and a thigh-length jacket, worn over a white dress shirt and a charcoal grey necktie. 

Two years later, in 1992, Armani dressed Jodie Foster in a pale lilac tuxedo with baggy silver beaded pants, a nipped-in-waist, and a shawl collar, accessorized with lilac satin gloves. It was the beginning of a 30-year collaboration for the two, with Armani claiming to have rescued her from the Worst Dressed lists. (He wasn't wrong.) 

This 1992 Armani design hit the red carpet in 2025 when Mikey Madison wore it to the Critics Choice Awards. It channeled classic Hollywood glamour with a black velvet bodice and ivory silk gathered skirt and crushed sash, accessorized with black velvet wrist-length gloves with ivory satin cuffs. 

Katie Holmes went "flapper chic" in a vintage 1993 shiny red strapless Armani at the 2008 Met Gala, accessorizing with a long multi-strand necklace, bright blue pumps, and a Louise Brooks-inspired bob. 

At the 1997 Oscars, Salma Hayek accessorized her sleek scoop-necked, figure-hugging white sequin Armani gown with a satin clutch and what else? A diamond tiara by Cartier. 

Red carpet gowns need to catch the eye from every angle, including the back. Charlize Theron's black satin Armani gown at the 2005 SAG Awards included a back opening with exquisite dangling beaded details and a sculpted train. 

In 2007, Beyonce became the spokesperson for Emporio Armani Diamonds fragrance, and she walked the red carpet at the Academy Awards in a pale green Armani gown with a thigh-high slit, a short train, and a floral wrap forming a single shoulder strap. 

One of my personal favorite Armani designs, Anne Hathaway wore this diagonally-beaded silvery-white strapless mermaid column to the 2009 Academy Awards. 

Clare Danes wore a nude crystal-encrusted strapless Armani column with a reverse curved neckline and a short train to the 2010 Emmy Awards. 

Armani could design geometric as well as sleek silhouettes, as proven by the sculptural blush pink gown worn by Jennifer Lopez at the 2010 Academy Awards, which featured a folded-over strapless neckline and a large gathered accent at one hip.

Armani also designed avant garde fashions, including this futuristic gown worn by Lady Gaga at the 2010 Grammy Awards. The gown featured a bell-shaped skirt that was cut away at the front and encircled with stiff loops that continued up the bodice and over one shoulder. 

In 2013, Jodie Foster stunned in a midnight blue crystal-embellished Armani column with criss-cross satin straps. 

Jessica Chastain's beaded copper gown from the 2014 Academy Awards landed her on all the Best Dressed lists. The custom gown had a simple, sleek silhouette that clung in all the right places and formed a graceful puddle on the floor. 

Nicole Kidman wore a cobalt-blue Armani gown to the 2018 Academy Awards. It featured a deep sweetheart neckline, a slightly flared skirt, a broad front slit, and an oversized bow detail at the waist. 

Cate Blanchett appeared with the designer himself at the 2019 British Fashion Awards wearing a sparkly champagne-colored sleeveless Armani gown with a full skirt, a satin belt, and a frothy feather neckline. 

Anne Hathaway wore this stunning white empire-waisted Armani column at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. It featured an off-the shoulder wrap that fell into a narrow rectangular train. 

Zendaya wore this stunning pink and grey one-shoulder Armani design to the 2024 Oscars. The silk gown featured a beaded palm tree design. 

Another of Armani's sculptural designs, Demi Moore won a 2025 Best Actress Golden Globe in this metallic gold trumpet gown with swirled bodice detailing. 


Armani's designs were always beautiful, always classic, and always flattering, and he leaves behind quite a legacy of both runway and red carpet looks that will continue to pass the test of time.