Giorgio Armani. Picture: Getty Images

Legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91.

But what currently remains unclear is who will inherit his estimated $US12.1 billion ($A18.5 billion) fortune — including an expansive property empire.

“Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the Armani Group confirmed in a statement.

“Indefatigable to the end, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections, and the many ongoing and future projects.”

The designer — who did not have any children — had a fondness for international travel, a passion that extended to his love of real estate, which saw him snapping up properties across the globe, from an island home on Pantelleria in Italy to an apartment in New York City.

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Fashion designer Giorgio Armani has passed away at the age of 91 in his hometown of Milan, Italy. Picture: Getty Images

Giorgio Armani - Front Row - Milan Men's Fashion Week FW16

Russell Crowe and Giorgio Armani during Milan Men’s Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2016/17. Picture: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images

In one of the final interviews he did before his death, which was published on August 29, the designer spoke to the Financial Times from his home in Saint Tropez, where he was still “rehabilitating” from the unknown condition that prevented him from attending his fashion shows in June and July.

Though Armani resided primarily in an apartment in the centre of Milan, per the outlet, his home in Saint Tropez appears to have provided a much-needed sanctuary from city life.

However, his physical absence from the day-to-day running of his company does not appear to have deterred the fashion legend from remaining in control of every aspect of its business.

“My greatest weakness is that I am in control of everything,” he admitted.

“Everything you will see has been done under my direction and carries my approval.”

To that end, Armani also opened up to the publication about the succession plan he had put in place — which will see several members of his family, including his nieces and nephew, taking over the running of his company.

“My plans for succession consist of a gradual transition of the responsibilities that I have always handled to those closest to me,” he explained.

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

Armani spent much of his life based in Milan, having moved there after he served in the military during World War II. Picture: Anastasiia Buchinskaia/Unsplash via Realtor

Armani snapped up multiple villas and estates in a number of European locations during his lifetime, including an expansive property on Pantelleria, a little known Italian island where he owned seven homes, Realtor reports.

Known as Cala Gadir, the estate became one of Armani’s most treasured homes — serving as a summer escape for the designer and his loved ones for years after he purchased it in 1979.

Known as the “black pearl” of the Mediterranean, Pantelleria was far from the luxurious and exotic paradise that some might have expected Armani to favour when he first purchased the home.

The designer revealed to Condé Nast Traveler in 2016 that there was no electricity on the island when he first arrived.

“I lived here when there wasn’t electricity on the island,” he shared.

“You had to pump your own water.”

The designer owned a number of properties around the world, including a pair of stunning villas on the island of Antigua. Picture: Flickr/Ed Yourdon via Realtor

Still, Armani put his own lavish spin on the dwelling, overhauling all seven of the residences in his own unique way, although he explained to the outlet that he never tried (or wanted) to turn the island into something it was not, instead embracing the simplicity of the lifestyle that it presented.

“I feel like one of the locals here,” he said.

“Forget the jet set, the partying, the cool people, and the nights until the wee hours. They don’t exist. And no one wants them here.”

Should he ever have lusted after something more starry, however, Armani had plenty of options to choose from.

In addition to his sprawling villa in Saint Tropez and his Italian island escape, the designer also owned an additional holiday home on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean.

The property is perched on a clifftop overlooking the ocean inside an exclusive residential community that is home to just 25 villas, each more spectacular than the next.

According to a 2020 profile in Forbes, Armani purchased the home for an unspecified price in 2006 after falling in love with Antigua, which he described as being “one of the most scenic islands in the Caribbean”.

His expansive estate on the island consists of two villas, which he purchased around the same time and which are known as Villa Flower and Villa Serena.

Both homes feature their own swimming pool, gym, spa, and terrace, as well as stunning interior decor crafted by the fashion legend’s own brand, Armani Casa.

He also had a vacation home known as Cala Gadir on the Italian island of Pantelleria. Picture: Wikimedia Commons

Armani also owned a floating estate in the form of a staggering superyacht called Main, which he is said to have spent about six weeks on every summer. Picture: Getty Images

Armani Casa was also used for the design of the businessman’s beloved superyacht, Main, which was built for him by the Italian company, Codecasa, and which is understood to have played host to a slew of Hollywood A-listers over the years.

According to reports, Armani spent about six weeks every summer sailing around the Mediterranean with his loved ones aboard the 213-foot vessel, which was launched in 2008.

In 2015, the design icon explained to Boat International that he’d made the decision to commission his own yacht after spending time aboard other vessels that simply didn’t suit his own personal style.

“Sometimes they’d belong to people I knew, sometimes they were just chartered. Invariably they were not my style — too white, too much lighting, too much marble, crystal and mahogany,” he said.

Armani noted that his love of life on the sea was also fuelled by his desire to maintain his privacy — which saw him avoiding very public places like hotels, or densely-populated holiday hot spots.

“That’s why I’m not that keen on hotels. That and the decor — actually, big boats are often like hotel suites out at sea. So my own boat seemed to be the perfect solution,” he said.

“I enjoy a degree of isolation — that’s what my home on Pantelleria is all about. However, it’s not just on islands that I like to isolate myself. I isolate myself in worlds that I create from what I love.

“I remove what I don’t like. You have to organise an atmosphere around yourself.”

In 2019, Armani purchased a stunning church-inspired penthouse on Central Park West in Manhattan. Picture: Realtor

The home, which features incredible stained-glass windows, was bought by the designer for $US17.5 million. Picture: Realtor

Yet Armani could not escape city life altogether, a fact that he made clear in 2019 when he snapped up a stunning penthouse apartment in New York City for the jaw-dropping price of $US17.5 million ($A26.8 million).

The four-bedroom unit, which is located at the top of a building on Central Park West, featured a very distinctive church-inspired aesthetic, complete with beautiful stained-glass windows that filled each room with a rainbow of light.

Spread across 3,000 square feet of space, the property came complete with an enormous terrace that offered sweeping views of Central Park.

The purchase of the home gave Armani a fair share of privacy, however, giving him control over an entire floor of the condo building, where he already owned another unit adjacent to his new penthouse.

Five years after buying the unit, the designer strengthened his commitment to the Big Apple when he presented a new fashion show in Manhattan in order to celebrate the opening of his new building in the city.

At the time, Armani spoke out about his love of New York, describing it as being one of his greatest sources of style inspiration.

“New York, for me, has always been linked to the many films that have deeply shaped my imagination,” he said, per Reuters.

“Thinking of the city in the ‘30s and ‘40s never ceases to inspire me and I evoke that mood in the new collection.”

Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and was republished with permission.

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