Giorgio Armani's will directs heirs to sell 15% stake, names successors

MILAN — The late fashion designer Giorgio Armani instructed his heirs to sell a 15% minority stake in his fashion empire, with priority given to the French luxury group LVMH, the eyewear giant Essilor‑Luxottica or the cosmetics company L’Oréal, according to a business will posted online by Italian daily La Repubblica.

The business will, one of two wills deposited with Italian tax authorities and widely reported by Italian media, gives control of 40% of the Armani business to longtime collaborator and head of menswear Leo Dell’Orco, and grants 15% each to Silvana Armani, head of womenswear, and Andrea Camerana, Armani’s nephew. The Armani Foundation, created in 2016 as a succession vehicle, is to control the remaining 30%.

La Repubblica reported that the will stipulates the Armani Foundation must sell the 15% stake no sooner than one year and within 18 months of Armani’s death, and that preference should be given to LVMH, Essilor‑Luxottica or L’Oréal or to a fashion group “of similar standing.” The Armani Group declined to comment.

Two wills were deposited on Thursday, La Repubblica reported: one covering his business empire and another for his private property. The newspaper also said niece Roberta Armani, who long served as a liaison between Armani and red‑carpet clients, and his sister Rosanna were each allotted 15% non‑voting shares in the company. The documents were rewritten by Armani last spring, the reports said, in part handwritten on the back of a sepia‑colored envelope.

Armani, one of the most recognizable names in Italian fashion, died Sept. 4 at age 91. He retained tight personal control of his business for decades, resisting acquisition or major minority investments from groups including LVMH, Gucci (now part of the Kering group) and heirs of the Agnelli family.

The designer also held a 2.5% stake in Essilor‑Luxottica, the French‑Italian eyewear conglomerate, a holding La Repubblica valued at about 2.5 billion euros ($2.93 billion). The newspaper said 40% of that stake will go to Dell’Orco and the remainder to family members as part of the broader distribution of his personal assets, which include properties in Milan, New York, the Sicilian island of Pantelleria and St. Tropez on the French Riviera.

Armani specified in his business will that future collections should follow principles of “essential, modern, elegant and understated design with attention to detail and wearability.” The final Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani collections designed by Armani are scheduled to be presented during Milan Fashion Week, which opens Sept. 23. A special exhibition at the Pinacoteca di Brera will mark the 50th anniversary of his signature fashion house.

Analysts said the instruction to seek a minority buyer among the major luxury groups signals a potential strategic shift in how the family intends to position the company for the long term, though no offers or negotiations were reported. The timing requirement in the will gives the company a year of transition before a sale process must begin.

The distribution outlined in the wills formalizes a leadership and ownership structure that places operational control with senior creative and managerial figures while channeling financial oversight through the Armani Foundation. The family and foundation control model follows approaches used by other European luxury houses to balance private control with access to capital and industrial partners.

Further details on any sale process, potential bidders’ interest or the precise mechanics of share transfers were not disclosed publicly. Armani’s death and the publication of his wills mark the beginning of a succession period that is likely to draw scrutiny from investors, rival luxury groups and fashion insiders as the company prepares for its next creative and commercial chapter.