MILAN, Italy — Francesco Smalto, an Italian-born designer who fashioned clothes for world leaders and football champions, has died at age 87.

The Smalto fashion house announced his death in a statement Monday, praising his ability to "reconcile virility, mystery and sensitivity" in his menswear designs and create clothes for "the most demanding men on the planet."

Moroccan news website Le360.ma reported that he died in in Marrakech. No information was immediately available about funeral arrangements.

Smalto founded his menswear line in Paris in 1962, and went on to design clothes for the king of Morocco and the president of Gabon, among other dignitaries, and uniforms for the French national soccer team.

He sold the Francesco Smalto fashion house in 2001, and it continues to clothe celebrities under his name.