Giorgio Armani: The Designer Who Transformed Hollywood and the Red Carpet

Giorgio Armani, whose passing was announced this week at the age of 91, leaves behind a legacy that reshaped not only fashion but also the way Hollywood presents itself to the world. Armani was not just a designer; he was an architect of style who turned the red carpet into a runway, redefining glamour and creating a blueprint for the modern celebrity image. From American Gigolo to Goodfellas to the Oscars, Armani’s influence is stitched into the fabric of entertainment history.

Armani’s name became synonymous with awards-season elegance. Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Demi Moore, Beyoncé, Denzel Washington, and Sean Penn are just a few of the icons who wore his designs to the Academy Awards. But it was the 1990 Oscars that marked a turning point, when Armani dressed Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jessica Lange—Hollywood’s rising elite of the time. He also made a bold move by dressing 85-year-old Jessica Tandy, who went on to win Best Actress for Driving Miss Daisy. That evening became such a showcase for his designs that Women’s Wear Daily dubbed it the “Armani Awards.”

Before Armani’s influence, the Oscars were not a global fashion spectacle. “Stylist” wasn’t even a recognized profession, and many stars wore off-the-rack gowns or relied on studio costume departments. Fashion historian Nancy MacDonell explained that in those days, red-carpet looks leaned toward flashy excess, dominated by designers like Bob Mackie or Nolan Miller. Armani disrupted that norm with sleek minimalism. Jodie Foster, who had previously attended in what resembled a taffeta prom dress, appeared in a sharp silk trouser suit. Julia Roberts wore an understated earth-toned tank dress. Michelle Pfeiffer arrived in a slim black gown with long sleeves. As fashion historian Clare Sauro noted, “They stood in contrast to the big poufy skirts of the time. They had understated glamour. It was the transition from ’80s opulence to ’90s minimalism.”

That subtle but powerful shift changed red-carpet culture forever. Designers soon clamored for the chance to dress stars, recognizing what Armani had understood: that a celebrity in your gown was worth more than any ad campaign. As MacDonell put it, “You can do twelve years of advertising and it won’t add up to Angelina Jolie being photographed in your dress.”

Armani’s road to becoming a global fashion force was neither quick nor simple. In fact, his first attempts at Hollywood glamour were met with skepticism. Michelle Pfeiffer famously dismissed his early offer by saying, “I can dress myself, and who is Giorgio Armani?” Yet his turning point came with cinema itself. Director Paul Schrader, seeking a high-style wardrobe for Richard Gere’s character in American Gigolo (1980), flew to Milan after spotting Armani’s work in Uomo Vogue. The collaboration was seamless: Armani provided Gere’s character, a suave Los Angeles escort, with unstructured European suits that exuded effortless sophistication. When the movie became a cultural phenomenon, Armani’s suits became the uniform of studio executives, bankers, and anyone hoping to project power.

The designer quickly embedded himself in Hollywood’s ecosystem. He opened a boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and hired society journalist Wanda McDaniel to handle celebrity relations. Armani created private VIP dressing rooms and developed personal relationships with stars, ensuring they wore his clothes not just out of obligation but out of genuine admiration. Soon, actors like Gere, Foster, and Pfeiffer became so associated with his brand that, according to McDaniel, Foster would simply call and say, “Just tell me what to wear.”

Of course, Armani’s meteoric rise attracted rivals. Gianni Versace once joked, “I dress sluts, you dress church ladies,” highlighting the contrast between Versace’s flamboyance and Armani’s understated sophistication. But Armani’s formula proved enduring. He built his empire not only through fashion shows but through Hollywood films and red carpets, where his clean lines and neutral palettes defined a new era of power dressing.

Armani’s journey to that point was remarkable. Born in 1934 in Piacenza, Italy, he initially pursued medicine before joining the army in his twenties. His first foray into fashion came in 1957 as a window dresser at La Rinascente, a Milan department store. By the 1960s, he was designing for other houses, including Nino Cerruti, before launching his own label in 1975 with both menswear and womenswear. His aesthetic—a blend of Italian refinement and modern minimalism—stood out immediately.

Armani also had a deep love of cinema, which fueled his collaborations with filmmakers. Martin Scorsese worked with him on Goodfellas and Casino, where Armani’s suits elevated the gangster look to one of sophistication. Scorsese admitted, “I have a weakness for Armani’s blue blazers. My closet is overflowing with them.” Armani’s influence extended into The Untouchables and The Wolf of Wall Street, where his designs matched the ambition and excess of Jordan Belfort. For Sharon Stone, Armani was a secret weapon: she wore one of his suits—paired with a sheer blouse and nothing underneath—to her audition for Basic Instinct, and landed the career-defining role.

Despite his success, Armani was exacting. He once complained that stars didn’t know how to walk properly in heels or even hold a purse correctly. He described Madonna as “very difficult” after she requested a cape modification. According to McDaniel, when one actress asked to audition his dresses against those of other designers, Armani refused, saying simply, “I don’t audition.”

For all his perfectionism, Armani viewed fashion as an exhilarating pursuit rather than a burden. In his book Per Amore, he wrote, “I’ve never taken drugs; yet for me the surge of adrenaline I get from my work is better than any hallucination or artificial high. It’s a kind of orgasm.”

That passion, discipline, and vision helped Armani shape not only wardrobes but the very image of Hollywood itself. He made the Oscars into a runway, gave actors and actresses the tools to project power through understated elegance, and redefined how the world saw fame. From a small-town boy in Italy to the king of red carpets, Armani’s journey is a testament to the transformative power of design. His work remains stitched into Hollywood history, a reminder that sometimes the most profound changes come not from loud extravagance but from subtle, timeless sophistication.