Giorgio Armani dies at 91: Five facts about the Italian designer

A funeral chamber will be set up on Saturday and Sunday in Milan, the company said.

Italian designer Giorgio Armani, the founder and owner of the Armani fashion brand, died on Thursday, his fashion house confirmed. He was 91.

Giorgio Armani died at home at 91, the fashion house said.(AP)

"With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani," the fashion house said in a statement.

A funeral chamber will be set up on Saturday and Sunday in Milan, the company said, followed by a private funeral at an unspecified date.

As per Reuters, Armani had been unwell for some time, and was forced to drop out of his group's shows at Milan's Men's Fashion Week in June, the first time in his career that he had missed one of his catwalk events.

Starting with an unlined jacket, a simple pair of pants and an urban palette, Armani put Italian ready-to-wear style on the international fashion map in the late 1970s, creating an instantly recognisable relaxed silhouette that has propelled the fashion house for half a century.

As the world mourns a legend who turned the concept of understated elegance into a multibillion-dollar fashion empire, here are five facts about Giorgio Armani:

1- Born July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, a small town south of Milan, Armani dreamed of becoming a doctor before a part-time job as a window decorator in a Milan department store opened his eyes to the world of fashion.

2- In 1975, Armani and his partner Sergio Galeotti sold their Volkswagen for $10,000 to start up their own menswear ready-to-wear label. Womenswear followed a year later.

3- Known as "Re Giorgio" - King Giorgio - the designer was known for overseeing every detail of his collection and every aspect of his business, from advertising to fixing models' hair as they head out on to the runway.

4- According to Forbes, at the time of his death, Armani had put together an empire worth over $10 billion, which, along with clothing, included accessories, home furnishings, perfumes, cosmetics, books, flowers and even chocolates, ranking him in the world’s top 200 billionaires.

5- The designer also owned several bars, clubs, restaurants and his own basketball team, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, better known as Olympia Milano. He opened more than 20 restaurants from Milan to Tokyo since 1998, and two hotels, one in Dubai in 2009 and another in Milan, in 2010.