What books does Giorgio Armani recommend?
Beauty, introspection, and a boyhood spent dreaming shape the book recommendations of Giorgio Armani. The Italian designer who redefined modern elegance and built a global luxury house from his unstructured tailoring has named three titles across interviews about his reading life, all drawn toward fiction, philosophy, and history. He calls Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian "a deeply moving tribute to beauty and thought as an unending quest," a work he says "really moved me." The list also holds Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, admired for "the apparent simplicity and naturalness with which the author speaks great truths," and A. J. Cronin's The Citadel, a novel that once fired his imagination so strongly he considered medicine — "a novel that really impressed me as a boy."
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
byMarguerite Yourcenar
2005347 Pages“A deeply moving tribute to beauty and thought as an unending quest. It is a profound and introspective work that really moved me.”
— Giorgio Armani
Source: Guardian Interview - My life in books
byAntoine de Saint-Exupéry
200096 Pages“I like it because of the apparent simplicity and naturalness with which the author speaks great truths, without embellishment, but with a heartfelt emotional tone.”
— Giorgio Armani
Source: Selfridges Corner Shop Feature
Read by Giorgio Armani
byA. J. Cronin
1983368 Pages“The decision to enrol in medical school was very romantic: I thought I would become one of those adventurous country doctors depicted by AJ Cronin in The Citadel, a novel that really impressed me as a boy.”
— Giorgio Armani
Source: Numéro Magazine Interview
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Giorgio Armani recommend?
Giorgio Armani's three recommendations are Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, and A. J. Cronin's The Citadel.
What is Giorgio Armani's favorite book?
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, which he calls "a deeply moving tribute to beauty and thought as an unending quest," describing it as "a profound and introspective work that really moved me."
Where do Giorgio Armani's book recommendations come from?
They come from interviews about his reading, including a Guardian 'My life in books' feature, a Selfridges Corner Shop feature on The Little Prince, and a Numéro magazine interview discussing The Citadel.
Why does Giorgio Armani recommend The Citadel?
It shaped his youthful imagination. Armani recalled that its portrait of an adventurous country doctor once drew him toward medicine — "a novel that really impressed me as a boy" — before he found his path in fashion.
Has Giorgio Armani written any books?
Yes. His name appears on the monograph Giorgio Armani (2015) and Armani / Fiori (2023), volumes reflecting his design vision and aesthetic world.