A Brief History of Armani Perfumes (1981–2007)
I'm a bit of perfume nut. You know how some people have walk-in wardrobes for clothes or shoes? Well, I should have one for perfumes.
Discover the history of the Armani fashion house and its perfumes.
The Armani fashion house was founded in 1975 by Giorgio Armani. Born in Piacenza, 40 miles south of Milan, in 1934, Giorgio entered the fashion industry as a window dresser but soon established himself as a fashion designer. Over the years, Armani has grown to become a global brand synonymous with elegant simplicity and sophistication, an ethos that has continued to motivate and inspire Giorgio and is apparent in everything from Armani clothing, jewellery, watches and cosmetics to Armani perfume and even home interiors.
The First Perfumes
Although Giorgio's first foray into perfumes was in 1981 with the release of Giorgio by Giorgio Beverly Hills, the first Armani branded perfume was released in 1982. Simply called Armani, this chypre perfume for women (now discontinued) was to be the first of many successful perfumes to be released under the signature Giorgio Armani label. This was followed in 1984 by the release of the first Armani fragrance for men called Armani Eau Pour Homme.
The Giò bottle.
1990s
The 1990s saw the release of Armani's first floral fragrances in the form of Giò and Acqua Di Giò, both of which shared the same soft-edged square bottle designed to emulate the unstructured look of Giorgio's jackets. He then followed this up with Acqua Di Giò Pour Homme, a marine fragrance that was supposedly inspired by the isle of Pantelleria where Giorgio spent many of his vacations.
In 1998, the first duo fragrance was launched in the form of She and He. These were the first Armani perfumes to be released under the more youthfully inspired Emporio Armani label and was the beginning of a new duo fragrance trend for Armani. In 1999, the original Armani Mania for women was released. Although popular, this woody oriental fragrance was short-lived, and with its black packaging and black lid, it was often confused for a men's fragrance and later discontinued.
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2000s
The next Armani perfume to be released was another Emporio duo, White She and White He in 2001. Lighter and fresher than the original She and He fragrances, White was originally intended to be a limited edition Summer fragrance but is still available today. Following on from Armani White's success, several duo Giorgio Armani perfumes were released between 2003 and 2006 including Night for Him and Her (now discontinued), City Glam and Remix.
2004 saw Armani branching out with his first Armani Privé fragrance, Ambre Soie. This unisex fragrance was not designed to have mass appeal and like the rest of the Privé range had limited distribution and was very expensive. The range includes the following:
- Privé Bois d'Encens
- Privé Eau de Jade
- Privé Pierre de Lune
- Privé Cuir Améthyste
- Privé Éclat de Jasmine
- Privé Rose Alexandrie
- Privé Vetiver Babylone
Over the next few years, several new Giorgio Armani perfumes were released, including Sensi and Sensi White, the new and more feminine Armani Mania Pour Femme and Armani Mania Pour Homme.
2004 saw the release of Armani's first oriental fragrance for men, Black Code (later renamed to Armani Code) which proved extremely popular and was followed in 2006 by Armani Code For Women. The Armani perfume releases in 2007 included Armani Attitude For Men and Emporio Armani Diamonds (promoted by Beyoncé Knowles).
More to Come
After more than three decades, Armani continues to release exciting new fragrances, and Armani perfumes remain popular.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
