The death of Giorgio Armani<\/a> marks the passing of one of Italy\u2019s most influential fashion designers.<\/p>\n As someone who studies the intersection of fashion, media and entertainment<\/a>, I think one of the designer\u2019s most impressive feats is how he harnessed Hollywood to extend the global reach of his brand.<\/p>\n Born in Piacenza in 1934, Armani abandoned medical school in 1954 to work at Milan\u2019s La Rinascente<\/a> department store. There, he developed a passion for fabrics and first learned about fashion licensing<\/a>, a business strategy that allowed brands to sell luxury designs at affordable prices to middle-class customers.<\/p>\n Observing how the licensed lines of fashion designer Pierre Cardin<\/a> retailed at La Rinascente at lower prices, Armani came to understand that diversifying a brand to appeal to different customer groups could be a profitable strategy for global expansion.<\/p>\n When he went off on his own in 1975 to co-found his own brand with architect Sergio Galeotti<\/a>, Armani soon found success by executing simple, relaxed tailoring that rejected the stiff formality of traditional suits.<\/p>\n In 1978, he signed an agreement with Gruppo Finanziario Tessile<\/a> to produce luxury, ready-to-wear clothing under his close supervision. That deal gave rise to the Giorgio Armani Corporation and its multiple lines aimed at international markets.<\/p>\n Armani\u2019s first ready-to-wear line debuted in the U.S. in 1979.<\/p>\n The designer had appointed Edward Glantz<\/a>, a former employee at Barney\u2019s New York, as the product development coordinator for Giorgio Armani U.S.<\/p>\n Glantz was tasked with adapting Armani\u2019s products for Americans<\/a>, who were accustomed to low-maintenance, affordable clothing. He worked to ensure the designs retained their relaxed elegance by using permanent-press fabrics, which require less ironing than natural fibers, while incorporating cheaper materials to reduce costs.<\/p>\n In Milan, Armani\u2019s jackets retailed for<\/a> US$600, while his suits went for $800. In the U.S., prices for his sports and formal-wear lines ranged from $150 to $450, and could be found at department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Nan Dusking.<\/p>\n But many Americans encountered Armani\u2019s clothes for the first time while watching the 1980 film \u201cAmerican Gigolo<\/a>.\u201d The protagonist, Julian Kay, a high-priced escort played by Richard Gere<\/a>, wears lightweight Armani suits that can be worn with a tie for a formal look or paired with jeans and a polo shirt for a more casual style. Part of the trick for this relaxed look involved using softer textiles that were commonly used for womenswear.<\/p>\n As fashion scholar John Potvin noted<\/a>, \u201cThe film introduced American audiences to a visual style which has been much imitated since. Its wardrobe launched Giorgio Armani in the U.S. and \u2026 consolidated Richard Gere\u2019s sex symbol image.\u201d<\/p>\n The designs featured in the film came from the white label Armani Collezioni \u2013 Armani\u2019s more affordable line targeted at American consumers \u2013 meaning audiences could watch Julian\u2019s wardrobe on screen and purchase the similar pieces in stores.<\/p>\n Over the course of the decade, power dressing<\/a> \u2013 donning outfits that communicate authority, competence and confidence \u2013 was in vogue, further fueling the popularity of Armani\u2019s<\/a> sleek, broad-shouldered suits. In 1982, Armani became just the second designer in history to appear on the cover of Time magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Hollywood is where he continued to flex his brand\u2019s muscles. Over the years, he outfitted characters in more than 200 films.<\/p>\n Titles such as \u201cThe Untouchables<\/a>\u201d (1987) and, more recently, \u201cThe Wolf of Wall Street<\/a>\u201d (2013) featured hard-charging leads who donned Armani suits, reinforcing the brand\u2019s reputation as a symbol of style and power. During this time, Armani managed to earn a reputation as a master tailor<\/a>, even though his suits were 70% machine-made and partially manufactured in Hong Kong<\/a>.<\/p>\n Recognizing the importance of celebrity exposure, Armani hired Wanda McDaniel<\/a> in 1988 as his West Coast liaison to coordinate Hollywood A-listers\u2019 wardrobes for on- and off-screen appearances.<\/p>\n A former journalist turned Hollywood housewife, McDaniel had observed how entrepreneur Fred Hayman<\/a> had pampered clients at his Rodeo Drive boutique, Giorgio Beverly Hills \u2013 no relation to Armani \u2013 making him the go-to outfitter for Hollywood elites.<\/p>\n She worked to apply that same VIP treatment for clients at Armani\u2019s newly inaugurated Rodeo Drive flagship store, which opened in August 1988<\/a> to cater to Hollywood celebrities and what the Los Angeles Times described as \u201cthe generic working rich<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n In the 1990s, McDaniel became the president of the Rodeo Drive Committee<\/a>, a nonprofit organization for local business and property owners to shape and promote the shopping district. It had been founded by Hayman, who was also serving as the Oscars\u2019 fashion coordinator<\/a>.<\/p>\n Armani soon became regularly name-dropped during media coverage of the red carpet, with commentators gushing over the Armani dresses \u2013 and, sometimes, unisex suits \u2013 that actresses donned as they posed for the cameras. Armani later said that the gowns worn at the Oscars were always the first to sell out in his collections<\/a>.<\/p>\n The designer\u2019s awareness of the entertainment industry\u2019s promotional power only grew over time, with the company\u2019s Entertainment Industry Relations department<\/a> \u2013 which is still active \u2013 overseeing celebrity relationships and styling for the company\u2019s various lines. This paved the way for other fashion houses to establish their own in-house VIP teams.<\/p>\n Reflecting on the significance of the red carpet to his career, Armani once said<\/a>, \u201cIt is about prestige and dreams, but those lead to dollars and cents.\u201d<\/p>\n This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a>, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Elizabeth Castaldo Lund\u00e9n<\/a>, University of Southern California<\/a> <\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Elizabeth Castaldo Lund\u00e9n receives funding from Fulbright and The Kluge Center.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The death of Giorgio Armani marks the passing of one of Italy\u2019s most influential fashion designers. As someone who studies the intersection of fashion, media and entertainment, I think one of the designer\u2019s most impressive feats is how he harnessed Hollywood to extend the global reach of his brand. Born in Piacenza in 1934, Armani […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2014207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[362656,369021,367340,356827,22860],"class_list":["post-2014206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-armani-suit","tag-armani-suits","tag-fashion-designers","tag-giorgio-armani","tag-hollywood"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/How-Giorgio-Armani-mastered-the-art-of-outfitting-Hollywood-stars.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2014206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2014207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2014206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2014206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2014206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Introducing affordable luxury to America<\/h2>\n
Selling \u2018prestige and dreams\u2019<\/h2>\n
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