Fashion and textile designers

Giorgio Armani S.P.A. (pronounced [?drd?o ar?ma?ni]) is an international Italian fashion house founded by Giorgio Armani, which designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, eyewear, cosmetics, and home interiors. The brand markets these products under several sub-labels, including Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, AJ | Armani Jeans, AX | Armani Exchange, Armani Junior, and Armani/Casa. The Armani name has become synonymous with high-fashion, and is a prestigious name in the fashion industry. By the end of 2005, estimated sales of the company were around $1.69 billion. [1] Giorgio Armani is planning, in collaboration with Emaar Properties, a chain of luxury hotels and resorts in several big cities including Milan, Paris, New York, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Dubai and Bali. The company already operates a range of cafes worldwide, in addition to a bar and nightclub. The label features high end ready-to-wear and accessories. Emporio Armani line has a high quality in luxury fashion clothes and focus on trends and modern traits.Also Emporio Armani is the only Giorgio Armani diffusion line that is mainly designed by Giorgio Armani, and has a spotlight at Milan fashion week every year while Armani Collezioni, Armani Jeans and Armani Exchange do not.Emporio Armani is sold in freestanding Emporio Armani boutiques in high end department store and its official website.[2] In January 2010, football (soccer) star Cristiano Ronaldo and Hollywood movie star Megan Fox became the male and female face and body of Emporio Armani. Emporio Armani has teamed up with Reebok to create fashion shoes under the label EA7. This year's fall collection will feature pop superstar Rihanna. Gianni Versace (Italian pronunciation: [?d?anni ver? a?t?e]; December 2, 1946 – July 15, 1997) was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Gianni Versace S.p.A., an international fashion house, which produces accessories, fragrances, makeup and home furnishings as well as clothes. He also designed costumes for the theatre and films, and was a friend of Madonna, Elton John, Cher, Sting, and Diana, Princess of Wales among many others. Openly gay, Versace and his partner Antonio D'Amico were regulars on the international party scene. Versace was murdered outside his Miami Beach home, the former Casa Casuarina now known as "The Villa By Barton G.", at the age of 50 by spree killer Andrew Cunanan. Gianni Versace was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy, on December 2, 1946, where he grew up with his older brother Santo and younger sister Donatella, along with their father and dressmaker mother, Francesca. An older sister, Tina, died at the age of 12 from an improperly treated tetanus infection.[1] Versace began his apprenticeship at a young age, helping his mother find precious stones and gold braid with which to embroider dresses. He studied architecture before moving to Milan at the age of 26 to work in fashion design. In the mid-1970s, his knits drew the attention of headhunters at Genny and Callaghan. Complice hired him to design their leather and suede collections, and a few years later, encouraged by his success, Versace presented his first signature collection for women at the Palazzo della Permanente Art Museum of Milan. His first menswear collection followed in September of the same year. After presenting his menswear collection he joined Jorge Saud, who would later also become a partner with Giorgio Armani. The first boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978. He was influenced by Andy Warhol,[citation needed] Ancient Roman and Greek art as well as modern abstract art.