With more than 500 VIP guests in attendance at his 40th anniversary bash, including Hollywood A-listers Cate Blanchett and Leonardo DiCaprio; Italian film star Sophia Loren; musical sensation Tina Turner; and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Giorgio Armani knows how to mark a milestone. The Italian designer celebrated 40 years in the business with the opening of Armani/Silos, a new exhibition space, and a grand fashion show that showcased some of the best pieces from the Giorgio Armani Privé collections.
Watch the fashionable guests gather at the event in Milan in the video above and get to know the designer better through these ten unique facts:
1. Giorgio Armani started his career in 1957 at the la Rinascente department store.
2. Fashion was not his first choice; before designing clothes, he studied medicine.
3. In 1975, he had to sell his beloved white “VW Käfer” to finance his company.
4. The designer has nine homes—one each in France, Switzerland, USA, Antigua, and five in Italy—and a 150-foot yacht, named Maìn.
5. To date, Armani has created costumes for more than 250 films. The first was in 1980, when he dressed Richard Gere in the thriller American Gigolo.
6. You can live the Armani lifestyle by eating at Armani Dolci: a small line of Armani-branded confectionery, and decorating your house with fresh flowers from Armani Fiori.
7. During his career, he has never been in debt.
8. He is credited with creating the first-ever bomber jacket in 1970.
9. The 80-year-old Armani has never smoked a cigarette.
10. He is the sole owner of his empire.
