Giorgio Armani Marks His Brand’s 50th Year With Multiple Celebrations

It seems 1975 was a good year for design. Several brands, mainly Italian, are celebrating 50^th anniversaries in 2025. To wit, Roberto Cavalli, Santoni, John Hardy, and the “King of Fashion” himself, Giorgio Armani, are all marking significant milestones this year. When the Northern Italian-born designer founded his namesake label at 41, he was already well-regarded in the industry, having established himself as a menswear designer at Cerrutti 1881, a freelance fashion designer for brands Allegri, Bagutta, Gibò, and Montedoro, among others, and his early career included roles in sales and as a window dresser at La Rinascente. With the support of friend Sergio Galeotti, he founded Giorgio Armani S.p.A. in Milan on July 24th, 1975. Now at 91, Mr. Armani is still at the helm of his namesake brand with plans to retire in the next year or so. To celebrate the anniversary, the brand has announced an exhibit and pop-up to mark the occasion.

In Milan, the designer will launch the Armani/Archivio project on Saturday, August 30th, during the Venice Film Festival. Armani/Archivo is an interactive digital platform that showcases content curated from a comprehensive cataloging of the Giorgio Armani collections, aiming to preserve the brand’s pioneering legacy while serving as a bridge between past and future. In the coming months, the platform will be housed in a physical site just outside of Milan.

Additionally, the brand is planning celebrations during the upcoming Milan Fashion Week, also known as MFW, centered on the debut of its Spring 2026 women’s collections. On Wednesday, September 24th, Giorgio Armani will open a curated showcase to the public at the Pinacoteca di Brera gallery.

It’s a first for the ‘Brera Art Gallery, the main public gallery regarded as having one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings dating from the 13th to the 20^th centuries. It is also the first time they have hosted an exhibition of fashion, featuring over 150 archival Giorgio Armani looks spanning the brand’s five decades.

Rounding out the week will be the closing show of MFW in the historic Courtyard of Honour at Palazzo Brera, featuring the Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2026 Women’s Collection alongside select menswear looks from the collection presented in June.

But the brand is busy with some other activations this summer on this side of the Atlantic before the big 50^thfete. Coinciding with the same anniversary date, the brand unveiled its first Giorgio Armani Mare pop-up Stateside, featuring the 2025 collection. After launching several iterations in some of the world’s most coveted summer destinations such as Porto Cervo, Capri, and Cannes, the coastal lifestyle collection—which includes swimwear, resort wear, linen tailoring, beachside ready accessories, towels, and more—will be the focus of a pop-up at Sunset Beach on Shelter Island.

To toast the 10-day ephemeral boutique and the summer collection inspired by easy Amalfi Coast living, the brand hosted a sunset cocktail event that brought the Mediterranean lifestyle to the Hamptons. The popular hotel—located on the island affectionately referred to as the “Island of Peace” and situated between Long Island’s North and South Forks—has transformed its façade, game room, and beachfront to evoke a beachfront vis-à-vis tropical palms in shades of grey and turquoise with contrasting warm wooden tones of flooring.

Guests included Linda Fargo, Mamie Gummer, André Balazs, Tracy Margulies, Kristina O’Neill, Leandra Medine Cohen, Mei Kwok, Pamela Tick, and Dora Fung of 10 Magazine US, who shared activities such as dog-friendly beach time, backgammon, al fresco dining, and dancing as part of the opening event celebrations on her Instagram feed.