'He Created Timelessness... the Ultimate Flex'

Giorgio Armani showed us all what it looks like when artistry and entrepreneurship meet with discipline and vision. For that, I am forever grateful

- by TYRA BANKS

WHEN I HEARD THE NEWS THAT Giorgio Armani had passed, my heart dropped. A legend. An icon. A man whose name alone could silence a room. And instantly, I was transported back in time: a teenage girl from Inglewood, California, backstage at my very first Armani show in Milan, Italy, trying to hold it together while my knees knocked like stilettos on marble.

Booking that show was one of those pinch-me moments. Armani was not just a brand, it was practically a verb. You didn’t wear Armani—you Armani-ed. And suddenly, there I was, part of that magic. I’ll never forget slipping into those clothes: earth-tone suits... some supple, some flowy, some with the most strategic forms of unstructured structure. And on the runway, they became poetry.

What I loved most was his consistency. Armani didn’t chase trends. He set them by ignoring them. You could spot his silhouette across a room, his palette across a page. He created timelessness, which in fashion is the ultimate flex.

Armani didn’t scream for attention. He whispered. And that whisper carried more power than a shout. When I looked in the mirror in one of his suits, I began to not just see a young, nervous model. I saw a strong woman in the making.