ETRO

The name "Etro" has now become synonymous with style. A lifestle, above all aimed at quality and esthetic refinement. A total look, a universe of elegance originating in Gimmo Etro's innate passion for travels andhistory, which have now become the leitmotive of all the lines. This love for exoticism and for culture has always motivated his research, ever since he began his entrepreneurial adventure as a converter of textiles for the clothing industry founded as Etro S.p.A. in 1968.

Production included precious fabrics made with noble and natural fibres, such as cashmere, silk, linen and cotton embellished with original designs and innovative colours.In 1981 Etro created a line of furnishing fabrics.

The motif characterizing the first collection was Paisley, which has be come not only the production masterpiece, but also Etro's hallmark. This line was soon completed by accessories for menswear and womenswear: shawls, foulards, scarve and ties. Once again special emphasis was placed on precious materials, but the creative designs went as far as to explore unusual figurative and chromatic intepretations.

The product range got wider with leatherwear, a collection of bgs and suitcases in an exclusive fabric - jacquard with paisley pattern - treated with a special plasticization process which eventually included also smaller and more practical models, such as wallets, travelling bags, vanity cases, becoming a status symbol of this chic of the Eighties. And at the same time a series of acessories for the home: duvets, quilts, frames, lamps, cache-pots, furnishing complements that "dress" the environment with refined fascination.

In view of the nineties, Etro turned to ready-to-wear. The stylitic research created inventive and modern menswear and womenswear, even if the careful cuts and finishings revealed an extraordinary craftmanship.

An elite public today chooses the style of Etro. The trademark distribution policy is extremely selective. The creative center is still Milan. The historic headquarters in the Liberty palace on Via Spartaco is complemented by a showroom across the street. A boutique on Via Pontaccio features home furnishings, while a four-story shop on Via Montenapoleone features the clothing line for men and women, and a boutique on nearby Via Verri stocks the latest Etro enterprise, perfumes and essences.

The trademark distribution policy, apart from relying on the best qualified salespoints in eery country, is oriented towrd the opening of most prestigious single-brand stores in the most important capital cities of the world. Etro boutiques are at present situated in Rome on Via del Babuino, and in Paris on the Rue Faubourg St. Honore'.

By the end of 1995 an exclusive six-story area will be opened on Madison Avenue and in 1996 the second boutique in Paris will be inaugurated on Boulevard St. Germain.

Since the mid-eighties, a commercial joint-venture enabled Etro to be present in the far east with 40 stores, from Japan to Hong Kong, to Singapore to Korea and its production is on its way to conquer the markets of Australia, Taiwan, and China.