
Overview
Giorgio Armani founded Emporio Armani in Milan in 1981 as a younger and more accessible fashion brand, not simply a reduced version of the mainline. Menswear and womenswear were joined by denim, bombers, sports-derived clothing, lighter tailoring and accessories, while the eagle logo and the first Via Durini store gave the project an identity and retail environment of its own.
Emporio developed through dedicated runways, monumental advertising, publishing and category programmes. The Via Broletto billboard began in 1984, Emporio Armani Magazine followed in 1988, and EA7 later separated technical sportswear from the fashion collections. Armani Jeans and Armani Collezioni were absorbed into Emporio from Spring–Summer 2018, while Junior now sits within its current structure.
Giorgio Armani directed the brand through the Spring–Summer 2026 collection Ritorni. Emporio’s current coeducational programme is developed by Silvana Armani and Leo Dell’Orco through their respective women’s and men’s remits; their first jointly developed collection was Fall–Winter 2026–27, Maestro.
Philosophy
Emporio treats the city as a working condition. Soft tailoring is mixed with denim, knitwear, technical cloth, bombers and relaxed separates so that the wardrobe can move between work, travel, evening and leisure. The eagle provides a more visible identity than the mainline usually permits, but construction and proportion remain the organising principles.
The brand uses accessibility as a design constraint rather than a licence for disposable trend. Fabrics and finishes may be more industrial, colours more direct and references more immediate, yet jackets retain ease through the shoulder and trousers are balanced around movement. Current coeducational presentations make the exchange between men’s and women’s clothing explicit while preserving different design responsibilities.
Timeline

Disclaimer
Creative timeline
Button TextBy January 2026, Silvana Armani had assumed the women’s design remit within Emporio Armani. She works with Leo Dell’Orco on the coeducational collection programme without a blanket group co-creative-director title.
Emporio Armani and Our Legacy Work Shop developed two archive-based releases. The second project, delivered for Spring–Summer 2025, added womenswear and recreated archival fabrics rather than relying only on customised vintage stock.
Emporio Armani and C.P. Company released a twenty-piece menswear capsule combining Armani restraint with C.P. Company’s proprietary technical fabrics. The project was a co-developed clothing collection outside the main seasonal runway.
Reebok and Armani developed connected Emporio Armani footwear and EA7 apparel and footwear ranges. The project combined Reebok technology with Armani fashion and performance design rather than functioning as a logo licence.
EA7 launched as Emporio Armani’s sports and performance clothing division. Its technical remit separated activewear and institutional kit programmes from the main Emporio fashion collections.
Giorgio and Rosanna Armani transformed a collection catalogue into Emporio Armani Magazine, placing clothing within wider visual, cultural and geographic narratives. The programme developed a durable editorial identity separate from the runway calendar.
Emporio Armani used the Via Broletto billboard in Milan for a monumental outdoor campaign. The site became a recurring urban image platform rather than a seasonal collection or retail location.
Francesca Rubino joined Emporio Armani in 2018 as design and coordination director for women’s daywear and casualwear. Her public professional record continues to list the role alongside independent consultancy and the development of Rubino Gaeta.
Giorgio Armani launched Emporio Armani in Milan as a younger, more accessible and metropolitan fashion brand with its own retail, product and visual identity. Armani Jeans and Armani Junior entered the wider group architecture in the same year.
EMPORIO ARMANI divisions and related structures
Emporio Armani contains active clothing and accessory programmes as well as publishing and hospitality extensions whose histories remain distinct from the main runway line.
Clothing programmes
- EA7 Emporio Armani
- sports and performance division, 2004–present
- Technical activewear and institutional uniform programmes, including Italia Team and SSC Napoli.
- Emporio Armani Junior
- childrenswear division, historical launch 1981
- The current children’s line sits within Emporio Armani, although the exact date of that organisational transfer remains unresolved.
Media, accessories and hospitality
- Emporio Armani Magazine
- editorial programme, from 1988
- A concept publication developed by Giorgio and Rosanna Armani that placed clothing within wider visual and cultural narratives.
- Emporio Armani Watches
- licensed accessory division, from 1997
- A specialist-produced watch programme attached to the Emporio brand.
- Emporio Armani Jewellery
- licensed accessory division, from 2002
- A jewellery programme outside the clothing collection sequence.
- Emporio Armani Caffè
- hospitality programme, from 1998
- A café and restaurant structure that began with a Paris opening and remains separate from fashion collections.
EMPORIO ARMANI collaborations
Emporio Armani’s most substantial collaborations extend its urban and technical wardrobe through co-developed products, institutional clothing and archive exchange.
Fashion and technical partners
- Reebok
- fashion and performance footwear, 2010
- Co-developed Emporio Armani and EA7 ranges combined Armani design with Reebok sports technology.
- C.P. Company
- twenty-piece menswear capsule, 2021
- Technical fabrics were applied to a restrained Emporio wardrobe.
- Our Legacy Work Shop
- archive projects, 2023 and 2025
- Recurring releases reworked vintage Emporio pieces and reproduced archival fabrics for men and women.
- Vespa
- Vespa 946 Emporio Armani, 2015
- A limited vehicle project defined through colour, leather and finish rather than fashion collection status.
Uniform programmes
- Italia Team
- EA7 delegation clothing, from 2012
- Olympic and Paralympic wardrobes designed and supplied across successive Games.
- FIGC
- formal clothing, from 2019
- Emporio Armani outfits the Italian national teams away from the field of play.
- SSC Napoli
- EA7 technical partnership, from 2021
- A hybrid design and licensing model for match, training and pre-match clothing.