Italian designer revolutionized shape of fashion for decades

Giorgio Armani, the Italian designer who cut the stuffing out of men's heavily constructed suits for a softer yet sophisticated look that revolutionized the shape of fashion for men and women for decades to come, has died at home, his fashion house confirmed Thursday on social media. He was 91.

- BY MARY ROURKE

PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN Getty Images LEGENDARY TASTEMAKER Giorgio Armani preferred straight lines, subtle curves and fluid fabrics.

"Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones," his team said on Instagram. "Indefatigable to the end, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections, and the many ongoing and future projects."

Armani expanded fashion to all aspects of life, his team said, "anticipating the times with extraordinary clarity and pragmatism." He established an open dialogue with the public and was mindful of the needs of the community, "especially in support of his beloved Milan," the team said.

Armani came onto the fashion scene in the mid-1970s with a small menswear collection that broke all the rules. The centerpiece of his line soon became an executive class “power suit” with broad shoulders and narrow hips to recall Cary Grant in the 1940s. He continued to refine the shape through the 1980s, gradually easing the “wedge shape” jacket into a more relaxed silhouette with sloped shoulders and lower lapels.

The look became the unofficial uniform of the wealthy avant-garde, in a striking contrast with the fitted English tailoring that had dominated menswear for a century.

He had his own ideas about color and fabric as well. While the expected range went from black to charcoal and silver gray and on to his beloved beige, his colors were artfully off the mark. In an effort to describe them, fashion writers mentioned blackened silver and beach fog. Shades resembling minerals, stones and grasses compared to custom blended paints. His taste in fabrics was unconventional as well. He often mixed silk and wool or silk and linen for a softer alternative to the heavy, stiff gabardines and worsted wools that were typical for men’s suits and jackets.