Giorgio Armani to Receive WWD Style Awards’ Visionary Tribute for Red Carpet Legacy

MILAN — For decades Giorgio Armani helped Hollywood A-listers feel red carpet glitz rather than jitters, playing a key role in glamorizing events ranging from seasonal award shows to film premieres and festivals.

Michelle Pfeiffer wearing a sleek navy blue velvet Armani dress at the Oscars in 1990 and Julia Roberts’ bold choice of donning the designer’s oversize, menswear-inspired suit for her Golden Globes win for “Steel Magnolias” that same year changed the way celebrities dressed for awards. Gone were the ‘80s flashy and ruffled gowns and in came Armani’s sophisticated and luxurious designs. So pioneering was the designer’s strategy that he took the groundbreaking decision to open an in-house office in 1988 dedicated to dressing Hollywood actors.

But while the designer and icon helped revolutionize red carpet dressing, he also left an indelible mark on the film world itself, creating costumes for hundreds of movies.

Accordingly, the second annual WWD Style Awards honoring the creative forces that define red carpet style across fashion, beauty and accessories will present the Red Carpet Visionary Award to the late designer, who died on Sept. 4 at age 91.

George Clooney — a longtime Armani friend — will accept the award on Armani’s behalf at the ceremony, which will be held Friday at the Regent Santa Monica Beach ahead of the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday. Over the years Armani’s suits helped Clooney perfect his sophisticated and suave image on the red carpet and in his personal life as well — he wore the designer’s made-to-measure black tuxedo for his wedding to Amal Alamuddin in 2014, for example. In film, Clooney has worn Armani-designed costumes in movies ranging from “Ocean’s Eleven” to “Ticket to Paradise.”

Armani’s costume credits are past the 300 mark, from famously suiting Richard Gere in “American Gigolo,” which helped propel the designer’s fame around the world, to providing the wardrobe for films ranging from “The Aviator,” “The Untouchables,” “The Dark Knight,” “Inglorious Basterds” and “Streets of Fire” to Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Casino,” to name a few.

A kinship and affinity cemented the relationship between Armani and Scorsese. In 1990, the latter directed the short documentary “Made in Milan” on Armani’s fashion, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

In 1999, Armani coproduced Scorsese’s four-hour documentary on Italian cinema, “Il Mio Viaggio in Italia,” celebrating the work of Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini.

Armani shared with Scorsese a passion for these legendary directors and supported the restoration of several films. For example, in 2015 he contributed to the restoration of Marco Bellocchio’s 1965 film “I Pugni in Tasca” (“Fists in the Pocket”).

Scorsese in 1986 directed a commercial for Emporio Armani and for an Armani cologne. The designer was also a sponsor of Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation.

Armani Beauty has long been a sponsor of the Venice Film Festival and the designer held his Privé couture show as part of the One Night Only itinerant project during that event in 2023.

In 2017, the designer launched Armani/Laboratorio, an intensive filmmaking workshop offered free of charge, which allowed participants to produce a short film with mentorship from industry professionals and supported by the likes of Academy Award winner Giuseppe Tornatore. Subjects included directing, screenwriting, set design, photography, editing, costumes, makeup and hairstyling.

“This new project develops further my support of new-generation talents, which began a few years ago,” Armani said at the time. “I like the idea of a workshop that teaches young filmmaking students practical skills, also thanks to the help of friends who will mentor participants in each discipline. Handing down knowledge is essential, and it’s my mission.”

Armani once admitted he would have loved to become a film director himself.

“When I was a child, the cinema was for me the most beautiful route of escape from reality. I liked to imagine every time to live the same adventures and emotions of the characters,” Armani once said.

Surely, growing up in World War II, movies were a source of entertainment for Armani, who often cited his fondness for the glamour of 1930s films — an inspiration for several of his collections. And he said that working on “The Untouchables,” set in the 1930s at the height of Prohibition, was especially rewarding, “allowing the possibility to imagine that epoch, while adding personal touches.”

In March 2003, Armani was the first inductee of the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award, a tribute the tony retail thoroughfare and the city of Beverly Hills created to honor distinguished designers and style legends for their contributions to the worlds of fashion and entertainment. The event drew A-listers from Gere and Pfeiffer to Jodie Foster, Sophia Loren and Diane Keaton — all also longtime Armani friends. The latter famously wore Armani as far back as the 50th Academy Awards in 1978.

To be sure, the designer built real and long-lasting relationships with many actors, from Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes to Cate Blanchett and Samuel L. Jackson, who both attended the Giorgio Armani spring 2026 fashion show in September following the death of the designer, along with Gere, Spike Lee and Glenn Close, among others. Cruise and Holmes wore Armani for their wedding in 2006 in Italy.

“Who are you wearing?” became a recurring question on the red carpet for years — so much so that Armani cautioned against this collective obsession, eager to emphasize the leading actor in the clothes — and make them look great.

“Sometimes the media pushes too much. We must look at ourselves in the mirror — to know how to wear important clothes,” he said during his 2003 visit to Los Angeles. “If an artist is not able to carry the clothes, she looks ridiculous.”

Pfeiffer for one expressed her gratitude to this mindset, calling Armani her “soulmate.”

Even after his death, the designer’s influence on the red carpet continues to shine. In December, the cast of “Emily in Paris” wore Armani for the Paris premiere of the Netflix original series’ fifth season, with cast members and special guests from Lily Collins to Oscar-nominated actress Minnie Driver paying homage to Armani’s enduring style.