Silvana Armani was born in 1955, the daughter of Giorgio Armani's brother Sergio. She began as a model, walking for Walter Albini, Krizia and Cadette, among others, but has said she was shy and not tall enough for a long runway career. She then joined her uncle's company, where she worked on the switchboard and in the press office ("no nepotism here," she has said) and became the house's in-house fitting model.
Her move into design came almost by chance, when her uncle asked her to put together a colour board for a new swimwear line. From 1980 she trained as a designer on the women's line of Emporio Armani, which she followed from its earliest days, and over the following decades she rose to oversee its women's collections. For some 45 years she worked beside Giorgio Armani on the group's womenswear; she has described him as a father figure, and their discussions as sometimes heated but always about work.
After his death in September 2025 she became creative director of the women's collections of Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani and Armani Privé, while Leo Dell'Orco took charge of menswear; she is also responsible for A|X Armani Exchange. Her debut in the role was the Armani Privé haute couture show in January 2026, and the pair's first season together included the first coed Emporio Armani show. She has said continuity is her objective, and has spoken of an interest in working on Armani Casa.
She describes her own style as "intelligent, relaxed, a bit androgynous, but always with a feminine touch", and names the tuxedo as the garment she feels most at ease in. Under the wills Giorgio Armani made in March and April 2025, made public that September, she and her cousin Andrea Camerana each receive 15% of the voting rights in Giorgio Armani S.p.A., alongside 40% for Dell'Orco and 30% for the Fondazione Armani.