Who Was Giorgio Armani’s Partner? All About Armani Exec Leo Dell’Orco

Giorgio Armani was a beloved fashion designer who had his partner, Leo Dell’Orco, by his side for most of his life.

Armani, who’s been the head of his eponymous Italian fashion label since 1975, died at 91 years old on Sept. 4. His company announced that Armani had “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones” in a social media post.

At the time of Armani’s death, he was in a long-term relationship with his partner, Pantaleo “Leo” Dell’Orco. Dell’Orco has been involved in the Armani company since 1977 and currently heads the Men’s Style Office.

While both Armani and Dell’Orco kept much of their romantic relationship private, Armani described Dell’Orco as the person closest to him in a 2024 interview with Italian publication Corriere della Sera. Meanwhile, Dell’Orco had been representing Armani at various fashion shows several months prior to Armani’s death.

So, who was Giorgio Armani’s partner? Here’s everything to know about Leo Dell’Orco and his relationship with the late Armani founder.

Dell’Orco met Armani at a park

Dell’Orco met Armani when he was walking a friend’s dog in Milan.

The designer recounted in a December 2023 interview with d la Repubblica that his friend’s dog and Armani’s dog began to play. At the time, Dell’Orco was 24 years old and had been working as an advertising executive before switching to a career as an industrial designer.

Soon, he said, he began modeling for the companies Armani worked with.

He recalled how, at the time, the company Armani was operating out of an apartment with four desks. While Armani took care of the fashion and creative side, his business (and romantic) partner, Sergio Galeotti, handled the financial aspects.

Dell’Orco was Armani’s “right-hand man” and head of Armani’s men’s collection

Just two years after Armani founded his company with Galeotti, Dell’Orco joined the design house. Armani and Galeotti worked at Armani together for nine years before Galeotti was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984 and died the following year.

Although Armani called it the “worst year,” he also credited Dell’Orco for supporting him both professionally and personally over the years.

“After Sergio’s death, he has been the closest person to me,” Armani told CNN in 2022. “He gave me an incredible psychological support, practical as well as workwise. First Sergio, then Leo.”

Since then, Dell’Orco has been described as Armani’s “right-hand man” who has frequently appeared by Armani’s side at various fashion shows, honors and events.

Dell’Orco is currently the head of the Men’s Style Office at Armani and runs the menswear for all of the house’s collections, including Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange.

“With time, he has become more mature, and stubborn,’’ Armani said of Dell’Orco in a 2021 interview with the Associated Press.

In June 2025, when Armani missed the menswear show during Milan Fashion Week for the first time in 50 years due to an undisclosed condition, Dell’Orco took over. After the show, he assured reporters that Armani was watching from a live stream and “liked” the show, per the AP.

The two never married, but Armani wore a ring Dell’Orco gifted him

Neither Armani nor Dell’Orco have shared details as to when they became romantically involved, but Dell’Orco said he’s been in a “lifelong partnership” with Armani to d la Repubblica.

Armani spoke about his relationship with Dell’Orco to Corriere della Sera and pointed to a ring, with a diamond, on his left ring finger that Dell’Orco had gifted him.

When asked about love, Armani said that while he was generally indifferent to it, he had strong affections for Dell’Orco, who he said had lived with him for years and was the person closest to him.

Dell’Orco is part of Armani’s succession plan

Before Armani died, he had spoken about the Armani line of succession, although he had never publicly declared who would succeed him.

While Dell’Orco heads Armani’s menswear, Armani’s niece, Silvana Armani, runs the womenswear collections.

“I am preparing my future with the people around me,’’ he told the AP in 2021.

Just days before Armani died, he told the Financial Times in an interview published Aug. 29, “My plans for succession consist of a gradual transition of the responsibilities that I have always handled to those closest to me, such as Leo Dell’Orco, the members of my family and the entire working team.”

“I would like the succession to be organic and not a moment of rupture,” he said.