
Emanuel Ungaro (13 February 1933 – 21 December 2019) was a French fashion designer who founded his eponymous
fashion house
Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...
in 1965.
Early life
Ungaro's Italian father fled to France from
Francavilla Fontana of
Brindisi
Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...
province because of the
fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
dictatorship in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. Ungaro's father was a
tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
and he gave his son a sewing machine when he was young.
The House of Emanuel Ungaro
At the age of 22, Ungaro moved to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Three years later he began designing for the House of
Cristóbal Balenciaga
Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre (; ; 21 January 1895 – 23 March 1972) was a Spanish fashion designer, and the founder of the Balenciaga clothing brand. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "th ...
for three years before quitting to work for
Courrèges. Four years later, in 1965 with the assistance of Swiss artist Sonja Knapp and Elena Bruna Fassio, Ungaro opened his own fashion house in Paris. The opening came while Courrèges was at the peak of his success but on hiatus and Ungaro's similar style gained him immediate followers.
During the mid- to late 1960s, Ungaro was known as one of the
Space Age
The Space Age is a period encompassing the activities related to the space race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events, beginning with the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, and co ...
designers, along with
Andre Courrèges,
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...
,
Paco Rabanne
Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo (18 February 1934 – 3 February 2023), more commonly known under the pseudonym of Paco Rabanne (; ), was a Spanish-born naturalised-French fashion designer.
Rabanne rose to prominence as an ''enfant terrible'' of ...
,
Rudi Gernreich
Rudolf "Rudi" Gernreich (August 8, 1922 April 21, 1985) was an Austrian people, Austrian-born American fashion designer whose avant-garde clothing designs are generally regarded as the most innovative and dynamic fashion of the 1960s. He purposef ...
, Jean-Marie Armand, and
Diana Dew, creating ultra-modern, futuristic clothing of stark simplicity consisting of flaring,
mini-length garments of geometric shape in welt-seamed double-faced wools,
synthetics, plastics, and metals worn with high boots, helmets, visors, and chrome and plastic jewelry. His designs were said to be strongly influenced by former employer
Courrèges.
His womenswear designs of the 1970s were noted for their exuberant mixing of colorful prints. He helped instigate the decade's characteristic layered look in 1971 before settling in to the voluminous, layered, peasant-based styles known as the
Big Look or Soft Look that dominated high fashion from 1974 to 1978. Ungaro's print mixtures fit well into the period's multi-layer esthetic. He didn't adopt the big
Fall 1978 change to
big shoulders and narrow skirts until 1979, but during the 1980s he would reach a pinnacle of success and influence with his versions of it.
In the late 1970s, fashion journalist
Michael Roberts, when opening a Sunday column in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', said "Emanuel Ungaro has a great charm. He wears it around his neck."
Ungaro entered perhaps his most influential period in the 1980s, as he interpreted the era's aggressive,
broad-shouldered women's silhouette with Edwardian-style shirring, ruching, draping, and his trademark eye-catching prints to create a voluptuous, very feminine, even coquettish look that was highly popular with the public.
Ungaro launched his first menswear collection, Ungaro Uomo, in 1973, and his first
perfume
Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...
, ''Diva'', 10 years later in 1983. Ungaro was a participant in
The Battle of Versailles Fashion Show held on 28 November 1973. Later followed the perfumes ''Senso'' (1987), ''Ungaro'' (1991) and ''Emanuel Ungaro For Men'' (1991).
By 1989, Ungaro was producing two
haute couture
(; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design. The term ''haute couture'' generally refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the ...
collections a year, two women's ready-to-wear (labelled "Parallèle", begun in 1971), as well as lower-priced labels "Ter" (1988 to 1991) and "Solo Donna".
That year a scholarship was funded in his name at the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...
, endowed by
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company (colloquially Marshall Field's) was an American department store chain founded in 1852 by Potter Palmer. It was based in Chicago, Illinois and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, ...
in recognition of his legacy as a designer.
Menswear lines included "Classics by Ungaro" and "Ungaro pour l'Homme Paris".
Lines not designed by Ungaro himself included "Emanuel by Emanuel Ungaro", a women's line introduced specifically for the US market in 1991, "Emanuel Petite" in 1994, and "Ungaro Woman", a plus-size line added in 1996.
In 1996, he formed a partnership with
Salvatore Ferragamo.
In Ungaro's obituary, ''The Guardian'' notes that his 30 years without outside investment ending in 1996 made him "the last independent in Paris":
Lack of funding shaped his own business. In 1968, he added ready-to-wear, sold at first from his salon on the Avenue Montaigne, then distributed in the US and Japan, for a reliable revenue stream to help support his couture without pursuing the licensing deals that had become standard for couturiers. He profited only from what his house directly made, not from selling the name to producers whose output quality he could not control.
In 1997, Ungaro, Ferragamo and
Bulgari created a new company: Emanuel Ungaro Parfums. The new perfumes to follow were ''Fleur de Diva'' (1997), ''Desnuda'' (2001) and ''Apparition'' (2004).
Giambattista Valli, 1998–2004
Giambattista Valli
Giambattista Valli is an Italian fashion designer. He is from Rome, Italy. His collections, both ready to wear and Haute couture, are presented semi-annually during Paris Fashion Week.
Early life
Born and raised in Rome, Giambattista Valli com ...
worked as Creative Director for Ungaro from 1998 to 2004. Ungaro credited Valli with revitalizing the house, and named him as his successor. In a tribute after Ungaro's death, Valli was quoted by ''Vogue'' as saying "He was one of the big masters of haute couture, with a very personal kind of universe.... We worked in parallel a lot, he on the haute couture, and me on the ready-to-wear. For seven years I learned a lot from him. He was not listening to critics, just his own dreams and obsessions."
In 2005, Ungaro retired and sold the label to internet entrepreneur Asim Abdullah for US$84 million.
Various artistic directors, 2005–2010
After the sale, the label languished with a revolving door of designers –
Vincent Darré and Peter Dundas –, the last of which,
Esteban Cortazar, who was appointed in 2007, was fired two years later after his refusal to work with actress
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...
. Subsequently, Lohan was appointed Artistic Director, working with new head designer
Estrella Archs, who was hired hastily to replace Cortazar. The introduction of Lohan, which was meant to give the label publicity, was received with shock and dismay in
Paris Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week (, commonly ) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Pa ...
2009.
In 2010, during Paris Fashion Week, Lohan announced that she was no longer working for or with Ungaro, and that she could not comment on the matter because of legal issues. Her work was heavily criticized and soon after the fashion house was looking for a buyer.
In 2009, the label had sales of about $200 million from fragrance and less-expensive lines sold in Asia, but the runway collection has been losing money for years.
Gilles Deacon, 2010–2012
In April 2010, it was announced that Archs had been dismissed and British designer
Giles Deacon
Giles David Deacon (born 14 December 1969) is a British fashion designer, illustrator, creative director and founder of Giles Deacon group, a fashion enterprise. Deacon joined the Paris Fashion Week in 2016. Deacon has been known to challenge the ...
would be taking over as creative director.
Fausto Puglisi, 2012–2017
In 2012, Italian company
Aeffe took over the production and distribution of Ungaro products. In September 2012, Fausto Puglisi was named creative director of Ungaro, and the brand announced its comeback to the
Paris Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week (, commonly ) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Pa ...
. In 2015, Ungaro launched a
smart
''SMart'' was a British CBBC television programme based on art, which began in 1994 and ended in 2009. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London. Previously it had been recorded in Studio A at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingha ...
ring that, connected to a phone, vibrates discreetly instead of lighting up when one exclusive contact calls. In March 2017, Fausto Puglisi was replaced by Marco Colagrossi (formerly women's wear at
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...
) as creative director of Ungaro.
Fragrance
In 2008,
Avon and Emanuel Ungaro collaborated to launch a new duo of fragrances, ''U by Ungaro for Her'' and ''U by Ungaro for Him''. Actress
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
served as the scents' spokeswoman.
* ''Avon U by Ungaro For Her'' was developed by
perfumers
Jean Marc Chaillan and
Loc Dong, and the "fresh, woody floral" includes notes of
bergamot blossom,
freesia,
pepper blossom,
acacia aura,
lotus flower,
osmanthus
''Osmanthus'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, etc.) with a few species from the Caucasus, New Cale ...
,
iris,
sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...
and
musk
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. ' ...
.
* ''Avon U by Ungaro For Him'' was developed by
Yves Cassar and
Pascal Gaurin, and the "woody aromatic watery blend" features green
mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
leaf, ruby red
grapefruit
The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red.
Grapefru ...
,
pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...
,
immortelle,
cardamom
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...
,
cedar leaf,
vetiver,
patchouli
Patchouli (also spelled patchouly or pachouli; ; '' Pogostemon cablin'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, commonly called the mint or deadnettle family. The plant grows as a bushy perennial herb, with erect stems reachin ...
,
sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...
,
tonka bean and
Balsam of Peru
Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin ''balsamum'' "gum of the balsam tree," ultimately from a Semitic source such as ) owes its name to the biblical Balm of Gilead.
Chem ...
.
Personal life
In 1988, Ungaro married Laura Bernabei. He has a daughter, Cosima Ungaro, born in
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...
, but her birthdate has been kept a secret.
[Susan Heller Anderson]
Chronicle
''Nytimes.com'', 26 June 1990
Ungaro died in December 2019 at the age of 86.
He had reportedly been ill for two years previous.
References
Further reading
*Morris, Bernadine. "Review/Design:When America Stole The Runway From Paris Couture".''The New York Times'', 10 Sep 1993.
External links
*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ungaro, Emanuel
1933 births
2019 deaths
French fashion designers
French people of Italian descent
People of Apulian descent
People from Aix-en-Provence
Knights of the Legion of Honour
French brands
Businesspeople from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur