Giorgio Armani, a life also dedicated to sports

Rome.- Giorgio Armani, fashion designer who passed away this Thursday at the age of 91, also had a great relationship with sports throughout his life, being the owner of the Olimpia Milano basketball team and having dressed the Italian national team in several Olympic Games, as well as Italian teams of the stature of Napoli or Juventus Turin. Known as the ‘king’ of Italian fashion, “he passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” his business group communicated. A few weeks ago, shortly before turning 91, a lung infection forced him to be hospitalized and convalesce at his home in Milan (north), which forced him to miss the men’s haute couture parade in June, something very rare for this tireless worker who never left the workshops.

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In addition to fashion, Armani showed great interest in sports, especially basketball, a world he entered in 2008 by acquiring the mythical Italian team Olimpia Milano, known since its purchase as the Emporio Armani Olimpia Milano, which dressed with garments made by EA7, a line of the fashion house. He also entered the world of soccer. Since 2019, he dressed the Italian national team, winner of the Eurocup in 2021; however, already in the 1994 World Cup he had designed the jerseys of the ‘Azzurra’, who lost the final of the World Cup in the United States against Brazil. He also dressed the Italian athletes and the Italian expedition that participated in the London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In the upcoming Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, the country’s delegation will also wear the prestigious brand. Also, several football teams entrusted their image to the designer, such as Napoli, which has been wearing EA7 since 2022 and has since won two ‘Scudetti’ (Italian League titles). In fact, one of the first in the sports world to lament the designer’s death was the president of the Neapolitan club, Aurelio De Laurentiis. “With great sadness I learned of the passing of my friend Giorgio Armani. On behalf of my family, the Filmauro group, and all of Napoli Calcio, I express my condolences to his family and to Leo Dell’Orco (his right-hand man),” he posted on the social network X.

Recently, the Armani group signed a collaboration with Juventus Turin to dress the players of the men’s first team off the field at all official events during the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 seasons.