Fashion Bids Armani Farewell at Designer’s Final Milan Shows (1)

Giorgio Armani built an empire worth billions, but the fashion mogul was most at home in his role of designer, obsessively fine-tuning his creations before he unfurled them on the runway.

As recently as July, when ill health kept Armani from attending his own fashion show in Paris, he oversaw preparations over video link. He later met with staff in person, and continued to pore over coming presentations until days before his death this month at age 91.

Over the past week, the fashion world has witnessed the result of those labors: a museum exhibition in Milan marking the 50-year ...