Last Friday, the 11th of July, was the 80th birthday of renowned Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani. Although Armani known throughout the world for his clean tailored menswear, especially his trademark jacket ‘la giacca destrutturata’, what particularly interests me is the work he has done for cinema.

Above left: Armani’s trademark jacket La Giacca Destrutturata. He removed the padding and stiff adhesive lining, changed the proportions, and moved the buttons, transforming a traditional formal design into something that is both smart and casual at the same time. Armani’s favourite colours are beige,  grey and greige, a mixture of the two. Photo (CC) by Giorgio Montersino

Armani’s suits have starred in many well know Hollywood movies. Remember the scene from American Gigolo (1980) in which Richard Gere tries on several Armani outfits which sport those distinctive high waisted trousers? Then there was the cult 80’s TV series Miami Vice: who liked Don Johnson’s pastel coloured jackets worn over tight T-shirts?  “Cosa?! la giacca senza neanche la camicia?” (What?! A jacket without even a shirt?)

Above: American Gigolo: Richard Gere being fitted with an Armani suit. (Paramount Pictures/Everett Collection)

Above: Ouch! … well it looked cool at the time! Don Johnson’s pastel coloured jackets worn over tight T-shirts

Above: In the 1987 film The Untouchables by Brian De Palma, Armani revived the classic suit.

Above: More recent films include The Dark Knight (2007), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012) in which Armani visits the bat cave to ‘attempt’ to beautify Christian Bale alias Bruce Wayne.

The list of movies goes on and on … here is just a small selection: Gattaca, A Good Year, Ocean’s Thirteen, Inglorious Basterds, The Tree of Life, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and more recently The Wolf of Wall Street with Leonardo Di Caprio.

But Armani is not only associated with menswear. In the 80’s and 90’s Armani suits were a must for women (especially Italian women) wishing to make a career and get powerful jobs. Here are a coiple of films in which Armani has outfitted powerful career women:

Above: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who plays an attorney in Class Action (1991), seen here wearing an Armani suit in court

What’s your favourite Armani outfit? Please share in the comments section.