Angelo Litrico

 In 1959 Kruschev took one of his shoes off at the United Nations in New York and slammed it on the table. That shoe was part of a range of accessories and garments that Angelo Litrico had created and produced and then sent to Kruschev.

Angelo was the first of 24 brothers and sisters. He was born in Catania, Sicily at the end of the 20s from a simple family, with limited means. The young Angelo went to school but for financial reasons was unable to complete his studies and found employment with a tailor in his city. With great enthusiasm, Angelo threaded needles, prepared the iron and carried out other small chores.

He soon realised he would not be able to go very far in Catania and so he moved to Rome where he found a job with a tailor on the outskirts of the city. One day walking along Via Sicilia, near the legendary Via Veneto, Angelo noticed a small workshop. He went in and asked to be employed on the bench. He got the job.

One evening Angelo went to the Opera wearing a tuxedo which was noticed by Rossano Brazzi, who subsequently became Angelo's first important customer. With time Angelo's customer base increased and soon he was able to buy out the small work-shop which he would never abandon.

Litrico was the first to organize fashion shows for men and to couple menswear with female garments which were already being presented by the big fashion houses in the 50s. In 1957, Italian fashion was discussed in Russia and Litrico was asked to take part, along with the female fashion houses. Angelo thought of taking a coat to Kruschev as a gift. For the measurements he had used a newspaper photograph. The Party Secretary thanked Litrico and gave him an expensive camera in return. He also gave the tailor his exact measurements.

After a few months, through the Russian embassy, Kruschev asked Litrico for a complete wardrobe which included... the famous shoes! In New York, the news that Litrico had dressed Kruschev came out in all the newspapers. At the time, by chance, he was in the U.S. for a fashion show. Litrico was surrounded by journalists and hundreds of newspapers and magazines spoke about him, in 37 different languages.

Among Angelo's customers were actors such as Richard Burton, John Houston and Rossano Brazzi; and heads of state including Tito, Peron, Nasser, King Hussein, Eisenhower, Mac Millan and Nixon. Litrico died prematurely in 1986 but his name lives on through the work of his younger brother Franco and Franco's son Luca.