Egon Von Furstenberg

Egon Von Furstenberg was born in Lausanne, the son of a German family of antique and noble origins. As a young man he lived travelling between Italy, Austria and the United States, which he considers his second home. He went to school and university in Switzerland where he obtained a degree in Economics. Destined to a brilliant career at New York's Chase Manhattan Bank, Egon decided instead to dedicate himself to his great passion for fashion and design.

So he applied and became a student of the Parson's School of Design and at the same workeds at the Macy's department store. In 1975 on showed his first line of pullovers and men's shirts. Thus the Egon von Furstenberg label was born. The company Egon von Furstenberg s.r.l. began its business in 1977 in the United States and in 1983 in Italy. The designer's creative consultancy focused at a variety of trading licences dealing in the production and distribution of products for different target and market segments. The Egon von Fustenberg label, thanks to the designer's rich creativity, is today present the world over.

Gianni Versace

Gianni Versace's interpretation of fashion is original, somewhat exhibitionist and brightly coloured. He believed art and fashion go together and has been described by Time magazine as the youngest of Milan's "young tyrants". Born in Reggio Calabria on December 2, 1946, Versace started working in his mother's atelier at the age of eighteen. He often travelled to London and Paris on pattern buying missions and was quick to learn the secrets of dressmaking and design. 1972 marked a turning point in his life. He was called to work for the Florentine Flowers clothing factory of Lucca. By the following year he was working as a ready-to-wear designer for Genny and Callaghan. In 1974 Versace conceived, designed, and helped to launch the Complice label.

A few years later, in March 1978, encouraged by his success Versace presented his first signature collection for women at the Palazzo della Permanente Art Museum of Milan. His first menwear collection followed in September of the same year.

Versace liked to consider himself a tailor, rather than a designer. He knew how to cut and sew the clothes he made. He tried on the men's collections personally and had his sister Donatella try on the female ones. He paid careful attention to the male and female body. The Versace look of the young, aggressive and sexy woman is well-known. He liked to create sexy clothes for his women, skin-tight with low cuts and high slits on the skirts. Versace was among the first to revive the cat suit, to bring back the mini skirt, to show tights worn as trousers, to bring the bustier out at night and bead it. In 1982 his dreses made with fine metal mesh first appeared and were a hit.

One of the first Italian designers to hire world-class photographers such as Richard Avedon to photograph his advertising campaigns, Versace paid special attention to promoting his name's image, also using the top fashion models for these ads. The same models strutted the runway during his fashion shows, and he was the first to use dramatic kleig lighting instead of the traditional overhead lights. This flattered both models and clothes.

Versace has been referred to as the rock-and-roll designer and clients include Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, George Michael, Eric Clapton, Elton John and Michael Jackson. He has also made clothes for the Princess of Wales and Caroline of Monaco. In 1982, Versace opened a new chapter in his career, making costumes for the theatre, opera and ballet. He began a close collaboration with choreographer Maurice Bejart. He went on to design accessories, jewellery, furnishings, and china.

Versace reported gross income for 1996 as 1,705 billion lire (exchange rate approximately $1=1600 lire) for the entire group. There are 138 Gianni Versace boutiques in the world, and 345 sales points. Versus, the younger line, has 550 boutiques, and Istante, the less costly line, has 17 boutiques and 330 sales points.

Gianni Versace was assasinated in front of his home on South Ocean Drive in Miami Beach on July 15, 1997. His sister, Donatella, who worked with him for years, took over as chief designer for the company. Her first collections have met with considerable success, both from fashion editors and clients. For the moment, plans to offer Versace stock on the New York exchange have been postponed.

Valentino

His "V" logo is famous all over the world. Women such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Farah Diba and Elizabeth Taylor have worn his exquisite creations. Valentino Garavani was born in Voghera, north of Milan on May 11, 1932. While attending high school he shows a precocious artistic temperament and soon becomes interested in fashion. He takes courses in fashion design and studies French to prepare himself to move to Paris. He is 17 years old when he arrives in the then world capital of fashion and couture.After a few years' apprenticeship in the Fashion Houses of Jean Desses and Guy Laroche, Valentino returns to Rome at the beginning of the 60s to open his own atelier in Via Condotti. Those are the years of the Dolce Vita and many Hollywood stars who come throgh Rome discover Valentino and determine his quick fame.

Valentino's international debut takes place in 1962 in Florence, the Italian fashion capital of the time. His first show at the Pitti Palace is welcomed as a true revelation and the young couturier is submerged by orders from foreign buyers and enthusiastic comments on the press.

At the end of the 1960s Valentino meets Giancarlo Giammetti, an architecture student who abandons the university to become his business partner. Giammetti's entrepreneurial genius will prove fundamental to the worldwide expansion and success of the House.

Valentino's White Collection in 1967 in which the winning "V" first appears, and turns him into an unsurpassed king of fashion. The lace mini-dress he designed for Jacqueline Kennedy's marriage to Aristotle Onassis made the covers of magazines around the world. By 1972 he has already launched his women's and men's ready-to-wear collections and has opened his first boutiques in Rome and Milan. Oliver (for his beloved dog) is the name he gives to his younger line. In the years to come Valentino extends the range of products bearing his signature by turning his ideas and designs to various sectors of attire (neckties, shirts, accessories, jeans) and interior decoration (textiles, tiles, furniture, wallpaper). In 1978 he launches his own perfume during a gala in Paris, where guest star Mikhail Baryshnikov dances Tchaikowski's La Dame de Pique at the Theatre des Champs Elysees.

Valentino's expansion continues with a chain of boutiques in the USA and Japan. 1989 marks the opening of the Academia Valentino, a cultural space located near his atelier in Rome, for the presentation of art exhbitions. The year later, encouraged by their friend Elizabeth Taylor, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti create L.I.F.E., anssociation for the support of AIDS related patients, which benefits from the activities of the Accademia Valentino.

Trussardi

The Trussardi story began in 1910 when Dante Trussardi, master glove-maker, set up his company in Bergamo, creating finely made gloves which were soon successfully all over the world.

Nicola Trussardi, Dante's nephew, after graduating with a degree in economics, took over the company from his father and uncle in 1970.

Taking full advantage of the company's experience in doing detailed work with leather, he decided to diversify the company production and move forward to keep up with the evolving consumer market.

The first step was for Trussardi to have its own tannery and Nicola Trussardi took the necessary steps. With the help of an expert technical staff they studied new and sophisticated procedures for treating and refining leather.

By 1973 Trussardi was ready to launch a series of products with his name and to add a trademark to his name. Looking for something original which conveys an idea of his product he chose the greyhound: a purebred dog which has always been tied to the history of painting, fast and delicate at the same time, refined, with an elegant carriage - a symbol of dynamism.

With the label defined, Trussardi began to produce bags, suitcases, and small leather goods. Taking advantage of the developments in tannery a much softer leather was used for many items, softer and more supple than the traditional ones used.

The immediate success of the first collection led to the enlargement of the product range from the original sector. First a series of accessories was completed including suitcases, belts, shoes, umbrellas, foulards, and ties. The next step was ready-to-wear, specializing in leather garments.

In 1976 the first Trussardi shop was opened in Milan. Today the network of shops in Italy and abroad includes 183 boutiques. Five belong to Trussardi and 178 are in franchising or affiliates.

In 1983, for the first time, Trussardi presented a womans ready-to-wear collection during the twice-yearly Milano Colezioni shows, at the legendary Teatro alla Scala, a first for Milan. In succeeding years Trussardi presented his shows in some of Milan's most renowned locations, including in front of the Duomo, the main cathedral. The Trussardi look is classic but innovative, with generous use of the finest fabrics.

Trussardi has undertaken many other initiatives, including the creation of the Palatrussardi on the outskirts of Milan, which has hosted a number of pop and rock concerts, including that of Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, and Sammy Davis, Jr. Other projects included a specially fitted-out Mini, produced by Innocenti, which Nicola Trussardi still drives today.

Mila Schön

Maria Carmen Nustrizio Schön was born in Dalmatia. After moving to Milan and well into her thirties, she decides to enter the world of high fashion. All she knew about it until then was that she enjoyed wearing the dresses which she was used to buying in Paris.

This charming and elegant lady of aristocratic origins had no cutting or sewing experience but with a small group of able workers she set up a workshop in Milan in 1958. The first soberly cut coats and dresses were produced and their refined touch was not missed by the elegant Milanese women.

In January 1965, at the invitation of Giovan Battista Giorgini, Mila Schön presents her first collection at Florence's Palazzo Pitti. A year later she opens her Milan boutique on Via Montenapoleone in an antique palazzo, once the residence of the Italian poet Carlo Porta.

The future holds international recognition in store for her and the Florence show is only the first in a series of successes. The enthusiasm of a buyer from the fabled department store Neiman Marcus takes her to the United States where she presented her collections in Houston and Dallas and is awarded the Fashion Oscar for Color in 1967. At the end of the decade, Mila Schön is offering dresses which were compared to works of art such as those by Josef Albers, Calder and Fontana.

Her evening gowns take on a growing importance in her successive collections. They include some embroidered in white and silver, those with Gobelin motifs, and those of Persian inspiration.

In 1971 Mila Schön launches her men's line and the same year sees the birth of the women ready-to-wear collections. This latter line has a wider public in mind but no less demanding. And before the end of the decade the men's ready-to wear collections will also be launched.

In January 1990 Mila Schön is celebrating her 50th high fashion show with a collection whose prints are inspired to the world of William Morris. A couple of years later a new line of accessories is launched, including handbags, foulards and shoes.

Mila Schön's career has led her to create uniforms for airline staff: Alitalia in 1969 and Iran Air in 1972. She has also produced uniforms for the Milan soccer team and designed the clothes worn by the Italian national team at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

Today the Mila Schön Group has become an empire with boutiques not only in major Italian cities such as Milan, Florence and Rome, but all over the world. Extremely selective standards have been adopted for foreign markets where the Mila Schön label is widely distributed.

Sarli

Fausto Sarli is one of the prestigious names of Rome's high fashion trade. His pret-a-porter collection is found throughout the world strengthening the presige and fame of this designer who excels in two fundamental aspects of fashion and elegance: creativity and practicality.

Sarli abandoned his business studies course at a young age and decided to dedicate himself to high fashion. He gained experience in the world of fashion at successful houses such as Schubert and De Luca.

In 1957 he was proclaimed the winner of a young talents competition by a jury of fashion designers made up of Schubert, Capucci, Marucelli, veneziani, and Simonetta. That same year he presented his first collection at Florence's Palazzo Pitti.

The following year Sarli set up his own atelier in Naples, the city where he was born. Encourged by the success in his home town, he decided to open a second atelier in Rome's Via Veneto in 1959. Those were the years of the "Dolce Vita" and Sarli's collections were enthusiastically received wherever they were presented. The perfection of his cut and his original styles won over both journalists and customers alike. The world's most demanding and famous women wanted to wear Sarli designs. Shy and modest by nature, Sarli did not let his success affect him; he shunned cult status and carried on scrupulously and diligently with his work.

Soon he opened up to foreign markets. In 1965, Sarli was invited to visit Canada and the United Ssates where he was welcomed with great enthusiasm and five years later he conquered the Japanese market.

Sarli follows every collection through its various phases of creation as a team of dressmakers, modellers and cutters works on his models following the traditional fashion school rules. His models represent nothing less than an exercise in sartorial style and skill which is the result of true dedication and continous research.

In 1980 Sarli began a new creative season with his "Studio" collections in which he furthered his stylistic research. In 1984 he launched the Sarli pret a porter collection. Different requirements and methods are the inspiration behind his pret a porter collections which are studied in every detail, cut, line, and are at the same time both comfortable and practical.

Sarli has received a number of prizes in his career. Among these is the "Golden Lion", a prize that had only previously been awarded to Valentino Garavani and Milan Schon, and which he won in 1987.

Over the past years, Sarli created an eyeglasses collection an eau de toilette, and accessories for the men's collection. His ties and vests were an immediate hit.

Emilio Pucci

The aristocratic Marchese, the fighter-pilot-war-hero-turned fashion-designer-turned politician is no more, but the legendary status symbol he created lives on. There was a time (before the price of gold was freed) when a Pucci printed silk jersey dress cost more by weight than gold, and no fashionable jet-setter boarded a plane without at least one packed in her luggaage. In the sixties Pucci-Gucci led the way for all the brand names proudly displayed that followed, but many people are not aware that Pucci did as much as Mary Quant for women in helping to free them from their rigid underpinnings.

Marchese Emilio Pucci grew up in Palazzo Pucci on Via dei Pucci and after the war attended the University of Seattle. In 1947 a fashion photographer for Harper's Bazaar, Toni Frisell, took a photograph of the handsome aristocrat as he was skiing on the slopes of St. Moritz, and when the editors of the magazine printed that he had designed the sleek skiwear he was wearing himself, inquiries from interested stores poured in. Inspired by the bright flags used during the Palio in nearby Siena, Pucci designed unmistakable prints using combinations of bright and pastel colors and geometric shapes on silk jersey, a fashioned them into dresses that flattered the female figure. The dresses were light and versatile, and the international nomads who started jet-setting in the early sixties found that they could pack a lot of outfits by Pucci in just one suitcase.

Pretty soon Pucci prints appeared everywhere, on shoes, purses, luggage, billfolds, bathing suits, nightgowns, and bras and bikini underpants. Pucci even produced perfumed stationery. When Braniff invited him to design uniforms for their flight attendants he invented an original approach that included a plastic helmet to preserve the women's hairdos, and bookings on Braniff shot up. The Apollo 15 crew carried a Pucci-designed flag to the moon.

In the seventies Pucci was elected to the Italian parliament, and he also began labeling and selling the wine produced on his estate in Chianti, owned by the Pucci family since the 13th century.