Giorgio Armani, Iconic Italian Fashion Designer, Dies at 91

•Late legend’s net worth estimated at $12.1 billion

•Tributes pour in for deceased celebrity

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Legendary Italian fashion designer, Giorgio Armani, has died, the company he founded said yesterday. He was 91.

“With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani,” the fashion house said.

Armani “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” it added. “Tireless, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, its collections, and the diverse and ever-evolving projects both existing and in progress,” the statement said.

Armani had been unwell for some time, and his canceled appearance at Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week in June was the first time in his career that he had missed one of his catwalk events. His last public appearance was on May 21.

Donatella Versace, a fellow Italian designer, posted a photo of Armani on Instagram and wrote that he had made history. “The world lost a giant today,” she wrote.

Known as “Re Giorgio” — or King Giorgio — he founded his eponymous company in 1975, and it soon became a byword for sleek, understated style that “extended from fashion to every aspect of life,” as the statement put it.

Its breakout moment came in 1980 when it designed the suits worn by Richard Gere in the movie “American Gigolo.” From there, it expanded into a global empire that covered everything from haute couture to high-street fashion, from eyeglasses to shoes, and even homeware, CBS news reported.

Armani’s first red-carpet design was worn by Diane Keaton when she attended the Academy Awards in 1978. She won an Oscar for best actress for her role in Annie Hall that night.

Unlike many stars who wore gowns, Keaton wore a skirt and blazer designed by Armani. She wanted to appear as relatable first and a star second, Armani recalled in a 2020 interview with Grazia.

“It’s interesting to look back at this because, in 1978, all of us were adjusting how we thought of ourselves, socially and professionally,” he said in the interview. “In particular, women were discovering a new voice as professionals.”

Armani added that he found himself being credited with giving these women the wardrobe to compete with their male counterparts. And as the women’s power suit dominated pop culture in the 1970s and 1980s, Armani was the designer to wear or, for his competitors, emulate, the report said.

Armani’s pants and unlined jacket created a discernible silhouette that put Italian ready-to-wear on the map. While the suit made Armani’s fashion house famous, his dresses were also revered as he kept the same elegance and emphasis on silhouette that made his designs so popular.

His business expanded beyond clothing to include cosmetics, perfume, home furnishings, accessories, and more. Forbes estimated his net worth at $12.1 billion and ranked him No. 235 of the world’s billionaires. Armani’s Forbes profile quotes him as saying he’s “never satisfied.”

“In fact, as someone who is forever dissatisfied and obsessive in his search for perfection, I never give up until I’ve achieved the results I want,” he said.

Though the funeral service will be private, in accordance with Armani’s wishes, the wake at the fashion house’s dramatic Milan headquarters and showspace, the Teatro Armani, will be open to the public Saturday and Sunday.

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, paid tribute to the designer’s “elegance, sobriety, and creativity,” through which “he was able to bring luster to Italian fashion and inspire the entire world.” She called him “an icon, a tireless worker, a symbol of the best of Italy. “Thank you for everything,” he wrote.

Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister who is from Armani’s hometown of Milan, called him “a figure of Italian excellence recognised and admired throughout the world” and “an unsurpassed master of style and creativity.”

Anna Wintour, former editor-in-chief of Vogue, described Armani as having a “clear force of personality” and a vision that made his work instantly distinguishable.

“He understood power and attitude and elegance as well as anyone ever has in fashion, and he understood women too: how they wanted to dress and what message they wanted to send as they asserted themselves through his rise in the ’70s, ’80s, and beyond,” Wintour said in a Thursday statement.

She also credited him for refusing to confine himself to any one field or medium.

“For him fashion wasn’t one thing: It was also film, music, sport, art, design, and architecture, and he left his mark in all these worlds—and everywhere he went,” she added.

Actor Russell Crowe shared that he was planning to see Armani at the end of the month in Milan, memorializing the designer in a series of posts on X.

He recalled that his “love affair with Armani suits” began when his luggage was lost in transit on the way to the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, and he went to an Armani store in a pinch before a premiere. Since then, Crowe said that so many of the significant, including his wedding, moments in his life were done in Armani.

“Mr. Armani has made a deep contribution, to fashion, to design, to popular culture,” Crowe wrote. “His energy, vision and finesse has made a mark acknowledged around the globe. I adored him. He was so kind,” Crowe wrote.

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    Deputy Speaker Kalu, Finance Minister Resolve Indigenous Contractors Crisis With FG

    Deputy Speaker Kalu, Finance Minister Resolve Indigenous Contractors Crisis With FG

    In a significant development, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Thursday, successfully brokered a resolution through his intervention, bringing an end to the standoff between the Federal Government and indigenous contractors of Nigeria.

    This came after the contractors, owed for months, staged a protest in Abuja.

    Following his appointment as Chairman of the House Special Committee on Budget Implementation by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Kalu convened an expanded meeting with the contractors numbering over 80 across the country with their leadership for an open dialogue on the issue.

    In attendance were also the Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Shamseldeen Ogunjimi and other top government officials.

    After a marathon meeting lasting over four hours, Kalu announced that all parties had resolved the issues in the interest of the economy.

    Kalu’s intervention was hailed by the parties who said that it averted further disruptions, demonstrating the effectiveness of dialogue in resolving disputes.

    To this end, payments to contractors are expected to commence from Monday.

    Speaking at the end of the meeting, the Deputy Speaker said that a mutually beneficial agreement was reached, expressing his gratitude to the Speaker of the House and his colleagues for entrusting him with the responsibility.

    He also announced subsequent meetings later this month to evaluate progress.

    He said: “First of all, I want to thank the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abass, PhD, GCON, the leadership of the House for finding me worthy to be the Chairman of Budget Implementation Committee. We met yesterday, cut down our holidays to be able to reconvene and look into this all important matters.

    “We met on Wednesday with Finance Minister, Minister of Budget and Planning, Accountant-General of the Federation, Representatives that cut across all the caucuses of the House, including representation from the House Appropriation Committee and Finance.

    “We saw the protest and asked them to come, lets have a conversation. I want to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for appointing these gentlemen to occupy the positions they occupy.

    “They have shown humility in service. They’ve shown diligence in the way this matter has been handled and the parliament we are happy that all we discussed yesterday they started implementing today, the ability to engage with the people.

    “We had over 4 hours engagement and they left here smiling. We got the strategy in place, and we’re going to come back on the 21st of this month to review what we’ve done so far, how we’ve ticked the boxes, what needs to be done and the way forward.”

    Also speaking, the minister of finance, Edun commended the Deputy Speaker for his intervention, assuring that the payment will commence next week.

    “Under the leadership of the Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, we did hold a marathon meeting today where all the issues were discussed and a timeline was put in place and a way forward was mapped out and all parties at the end of it left knowing that contractors would be paid for jobs done and we have an orderly and systematic way of dealing with the backlogs which had approved overtime.

    “Once again, we commend the leadership of the House of Representatives and the contractors for their willingness to sit down and dialogue. The Accountant-General of the Federation made some commitments which helped us to chart the way forward.

    “We had a peaceful solution. A timeline was put in place and everyone accepted that there are steps that need to be taken, approvals, finalization and orderly procedure for payments. After Friday’s holiday, the Central Bank will open again on Monday and payments will commence immediately”, he said.

    The Accountant-General of the Federation, Ogunjimi corroborated the position of the minister of finance.

    “This process is ongoing. We’ve been paying contractors and we will continue to pay. From Monday, payments will start dropping”, he said.

    Earlier in the meeting, the leadership and membership of the association of indigenous contractors of Nigeria expressed satisfaction with the resolutions reached.

    Commending the Deputy Speaker for his intervention, they also pledged to discontinue with the protest.

    The post Deputy Speaker Kalu, Finance Minister Resolve Indigenous Contractors Crisis With FG appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

    ​  

    In a significant development, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Thursday, successfully brokered a resolution through his intervention, bringing an end to the
    The post Deputy Speaker Kalu, Finance Minister Resolve Indigenous Contractors Crisis With FG appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

    Jonathan: Nigerian Politics is Full of Traitors, Liars

    Jonathan: Nigerian Politics is Full of Traitors, Liars

    •’They will tell you something, the next hour they are saying another’

    •Says he has witnessed a lot of betrayals

    Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

    Former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday said that Nigeria’s political atmosphere is full of betrayals and lies.

    Jonathan stated this in Benin City during the 70th birthday ceremony of his former Chief of Staff and former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Chief Mike Ogiadomhe.

    The ceremony attracted many dignitaries, including former governors Lucky Igbinedion, Professor Osarhiemen Osunbor and Adams Oshiomhole and Ibrahim Dakwambo of Gombe State.

    Others included former deputy governors of the state, Rev. Peter Obadan, Pius Odubu, Marvelous Omobayo, Chief Judge of Edo State Daniel Okungbowa, Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku who led other members of the assembly, traditional rulers among others.

    Jonathan said Ogiadomhe was an ally that can be trusted at all time. When I became president, then post presidency, one of the few friends that could give up their necks for me is Mike. You know politics, in the Nigerian standard, is about betrayals.

    “You find it difficult to see somebody who will say the same thing in the morning and in the evening. I’ve witnessed a lot of betrayals, especially my 2015 election, and Mike is somebody who would take a bullet on my behalf.

    “He is somebody that you can take his word to the bank,  most other politicians, you cannot take their words to the bank. They will tell you something, the next hour they are saying another,” the former Nigerian President stated.

    On his part, the deputy governor of Edo State, Dennis Idahosa, who represented Governor Monday Okoebholo said the foundation Ogiadomhe laid as deputy is what is still being followed, while Lucky Igbinedion said he had no reservation handing over the affairs of the state to Ogiadomhe as his deputy governor when he needed to travel abroad.

    Also speaking, former Governor of the state,  Adams Oshiomhole said whenever he discussed politics with the celebrant, he always told him that wherever Jonathan is, that is where he would be, commending his wife, Lousia for being a dependable wife.

    The post Jonathan: Nigerian Politics is Full of Traitors, Liars appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

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    •’They will tell you something, the next hour they are saying another’ •Says he has witnessed a lot of betrayals Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Former President of Nigeria, Dr.
    The post Jonathan: Nigerian Politics is Full of Traitors, Liars appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

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