Count Ferdinando Sarmi (February 14, 1912New York, Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in New York City, 1792-1989
ancestry.com; accessed November 2, 2016. – 1982) was an Italian-born American fashion designer and businessman. He headed the Sarmi fashion design house in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Early years

Sarmi was born into a wealthy

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

family and raised in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

. He expressed interest in fashion as a youth but was discouraged from pursuing a design career by his father. Sarmi stated in a 1965 interview with ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, "in Italy, when the oldest son tells his father he wants to be a dress designer, it's like a woman saying she intends to be a prostitute". His father sent him to study at the

University of Siena The University of Siena (, abbreviation: UNISI), located in Siena, Tuscany, holds the distinction of being Italy's first publicly funded university as well as one of the oldest, originally established as ''Studium Senese'' in 1240. As of 2022, it ...

, where he received a doctor of law degree. Despite his professional training, he desired a career in fashion. He became a costume designer and created costumes for two Italian

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s: ''Musica Proibita'' (released as ''Forbidden Music'' in the US) in 1942 and '' Cronaca di un Amore'' (released as ''Story of a Love Affair'' in the US) in 1950. It was his first and only known on-screen performance. He left Italy in 1951 to work in New York fashion.

New York

From 1951–1959, Sarmi was head designer for

Elizabeth Arden Elizabeth Arden (December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966), also known as Elizabeth N. Graham, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. Backg ...

. He then opened his own high quality ready-to-wear salon in New York in 1959, using the label Sarmi. In 1960, he won a Coty Award. It was during this time that he developed a reputation as a top designer, wooing an influential clientele that included celebrities, New York socialites, and foreign dignitaries.

Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as the Second ladies and gentlemen of the United States, second lady ...

wore a Sarmi for Arden gown to her husband's second inaugural ball in 1957. He was best known for his opulent evening looks, and for his use of extravagant fabrics such as swansdown. He became a naturalized United States citizen on January 12, 1959. Sarmi left Arden and opened his own Seventh Avenue boutique in 1959. In 1960, he was awarded the prestigious

Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awards we ...

for fashion design. His collection included

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 ...

and

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...

apparel that set the pace for 1960s fashion in New York. His designs commonly featured intricate embroideries, vivid colors, and racy hemlines as well as hand-silkscreened silks and the first-ever tie-dyed silk chiffons used in haute couture, designed and produced by Tzaims Luksus. During the late 1960s, the house fell upon financial difficulties. In 1972, his business was renamed Ferdinando Sarmi, but it closed shortly thereafter. By 1977, Sarmi had resettled in Italy, and he died in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

in 1982.Cronaca di un amore un film di Michelangelo Antonioni : quando un'opera prima è già un capolavoro (2004), pg. 121
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarmi, Ferdinando 1912 births 1982 deaths American fashion designers Businesspeople from Trieste Clothing brands Design companies established in 1959 High fashion brands Italian emigrants to the United States Italian fashion designers Naturalized citizens of the United States University of Siena alumni Date of death missing