Rome, July 10 - Giorgio Armani turns 80 on Friday.

Next year, he will be celebrating the 40th birthday of his brand, one of the most recognizable worldwide.

And though his menswear spring 2015 collection presented last month in Milan was called ''Echoes of Armani'', he keeps showing he can dip into his fertile vision to design the perfect moves that have kept him at the top of the fashion game ever since the 1980s film ''American gigolo'' and the power suit.

Few names in fashion have succeeded in conjuring such a distinctive, unique style.

His streamlined, sensual, all-Italian minimalism delivered through a stunning variety of products have turned the man dubbed King Giorgio by the Italian media into a way of life.

Armani's name can sell as easily bronzer or a hotel room as it does haute couture.

The designer is widely credited with originally putting Milan on the fashion map and giving a key contribution in turning the Made in Italy label into a synonym of excellence in craft and design.

His most recent shows made it also apparent he is still very much a hot-ticket of Milan fashion week as he is of Paris' haute couture.

Just three days from his birthday, at the Armani Privé couture show on Tuesday, the father of the sexy trouser suit and the strong-shouldered jacket that empowered businesswomen in the 1980s, envisioned the couture shorts for eveningwear and created a number of stunning short suits.

Armani stepped into haute couture a decade ago to showcase his red carpet designs - the Hollywood connection being very much a key part of Armani's DNA.

Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson and Jared Leto were among film stars who attended Tuesday's show, a fashion event that will have trend reverberations for seasons to come, just like his men's and women's ready-to-wear catwalks.

Armani has remained at the top of the game, since he debuted leather bomber jackets in the Sala Bianca of Florence's Pitti Palace in 1970 as a freelancer, for his perfect designs and his ability to pitch them.

Indeed he is credited with turning core elements of traditional Neapolitan tailoring - form-fitting suits with pliable wools and defined shoulders - into cutting-edge designs fit for cult status.

He has also stayed in the game because he has been making clothes for women and men to wear.

Real clothes that have evolved with his vision while staying true to a nuanced palette and the trademark Armani silhouette of statement tops, flowing trousers for men and women and voluminous outerwear - with exceptions that prove the rule.

The hands-on designer, who starred in one of his ad campaigns last year, has repeatedly said he has no intention to stop working.

He has been reportedly considering the possibility of creating a foundation to protect the legacy of his empire.

He has however provided no direct answer to fashion observers questioning who will succeed him as creative director and chief executive of one of the world's top brands, which reported a 4.5% growth in revenue last year to over 2.1 billion euros in spite of a slowdown of the luxury industry in key markets.

Turnover for retail totaled 7.7 billion.

While hinting over the last few years that he could list or sell the group, Armani said earlier this year he is honing young staff to continue pursuing his work though he has ''no intention of letting go'' just yet.