Giorgio Armani Opens Up about the Men in His Life

At age 90, iconic Italian designer Giorgio Armani is opening up about the men in his life, from an early gay crush he "couldn't wait to be near" to the man he lost to AIDS to his current life partner.

In a wide-ranging interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della sera, Armani recalled that, "As a child, I was ugly," and said he only "became handsome" later on. He admitted to some "jealousy" when it came to his brother, Sergio, asking, "Well, how could I not be jealous when I was small, dark, with straight hair, and had a tall, blond, very handsome brother?"

Though he recalled a childhood crush on a girl named Wanda – "an exotic-looking girl, with a slightly ethnic complexion: Straight hair, parted in the middle, a bit like girls these days" – who was tragically struck and killed by a truck, and related early sexual experiences with another girl, it was a boyhood crush that had a profound and lasting effect on him.

Opening up for the first time about first being attracted to another male, Armani divulged that "It was under a shed on the beach at Misano Mare, at 5 in the afternoon, when all the boys from the settlement were taken to the beach to relax." Armani recalled that "there was a leader, a young man, who immediately inspired a feeling of love in me."

"I didn't follow up on it," Armani added. "But from then on, my life followed a different course." At the time, he said, "I didn't understand what it was; I didn't differentiate between men and women."

However, "It was an attraction I felt, a beautiful thing: I couldn't wait to be close to him, to have him caress me. [It was] a powerful emotion."

"I've never told anyone these things," the designer added. "It's a very emotional memory."

Remembering his time with his late partner (in business as well as in life), Sergio Galeotti, Armani described their first meeting: "We met near Capannina [a nightclub], in Versilia" – a region of Lucca in Tuscany – "where I was on vacation for two days. I passed Sergio in the car, I immediately liked his Tuscan smile, and we immediately became friends."

It was with Galeotti that Armani established his own fashion line in 1975. Their relationship lasted from the late 1960s until Galeotti's death at the age of 40, from AIDS-related complications, in 1985.

Armani spoke movingly of the loss, saying, "When Sergio died, a part of me died." Adding that he felt a certain amount of pride "because I survived an overwhelming sorrow."

He recalled spending a year shuttling between hospitals even as he "continued to work," and noted that the year during which he knew Sergio's death was imminent "happened in a wonderful time, when we were starting to be someone, getting our company going, getting to be known in the world. It was the moment in which I gained confidence in myself," Armani said, "and then the roof fell in on me."

Still, "I had an incredible willpower to overcome this cruel pain," the designer recounted. "I brought him photos of the fashion shows. In the last few days," Armani added, "I saw tears in his eyes."

The immense loss notwithstanding, Armani determined to succeed on his own, rejecting offers of collaboration. He described his relationships with other designers as ranging from "detached" (Gianni Versace) to "pleasant" (Valentino), and expressed his admiration for Dolce & Gabbana – although he admitted wondering of their designs, "What woman would wear them?"

But it was with Leo Dell'Orco that he found the romantic relationship he's in to this day – although, he says, he wouldn't describe himself as being in love, despite wearing a ring on his wedding band finger that Dell'Orco gave him.

"No, I'm a little indifferent to [the idea of being in love], because I do the math and tell myself it's useless to be in love and only have a little space for that love, because I don't have the space."

Still, "I save my deep affection for Leo Dell'Orco, who has lived with me for years," Armani said, "and is the person closest to me."