#giorgio-armani

#giorgio-armani

When Fred maneuvered to steer him into Barneys, he was a start-upnot quite a nobody but a long way from the top. At that time, he barely had a label to speak of; after putting in time behind the scenes of fashion, the 41-year-old designer founded Giorgio Armani S.p.A. out of a two-room office in 1975.

He died on Thursday, and "worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections, and the many ongoing and future projects," the Armani company said in a statement. In his last interview, Armani told the Financial Times that his greatest weakness was his inability to relinquish control. The billionaire fashion designer was remotely approving details, including watching fittings and models' make-up, when, in a career-first, he was unable to attend three fashion shows in June and July due to illness.

It all began with the jacket. Giorgio Armani twisted and bruised the angular piece of clothing - tearing out the padding, adjusting the proportions, moving the buttons - until he was left with something supple as a cardigan, light as a shirt. "Removing all rigidity from the garment and discovering an unexpected naturalness," as he put it years later. "It was the starting point for everything that came after." His 1970s reimagining of the jacket - a study in nonchalance - was to be his statement of purpose as a fashion designer.