Giorgio Armani Has Passed Away – A Fashion Icon Forever Linked With Football

The legendary designer Giorgio Armani has passed away. It is hard to imagine anyone in the world of fashion more deeply connected to football than him.

Even today, Armani dresses the Italian national team and Juventus off the pitch, while Napoli take the field in kits featuring the Emporio Armani EA7 logo.

“I was one of the first, maybe even the very first, to involve footballers in my work,” Armani once said. “In 1995, I asked England goalkeeper David James to appear in a fashion show and advertising campaign.”

A year earlier, in 1994, Armani began outfitting the Italian national team for the World Cup in the United States. From that moment on, his life was forever tied to football. His brand created Liverpool’s iconic cream suits, dressed Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, the England national team, and many more.

Armani constantly brought footballers into the fashion spotlight. In 2007, David Beckham became the face of Emporio Armani underwear, boosting sales of the line by 30%. Two years later, Cristiano Ronaldo took over the campaign.

The designer also invited football stars to walk the runway. During his AC Milan years, Andriy Shevchenko appeared as a model in an Armani show. In fact, the EA7 sub-brand was inspired by Shevchenko’s game, with the number 7 referencing his iconic Milan shirt.

Giorgio Armani is gone. But his influence on both fashion and football will live forever.

Published by Patrick Jane
04.09.2025