Frida Giannini (born in Rome, 1972) is an Italian fashion designer. She was the

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

of the Italian fashion house

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

from 2006 to 2014.

Education

Giannini studied

fashion design 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 ...

at Rome's Fashion Academy.

Career

After brief stints at small, family-run accessories companies, she joined

Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...

in 1997, to design

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 ...

. After three seasons, she was promoted to designer of leather goods. In 2002, Giannini joined Gucci as design director of handbags. In 2004, she was appointed to head women's accessories when

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched Tom Ford (brand), his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Sai ...

departed the company. At the time, Gucci stores focused its inventory on the "GG"

monogram A monogram is a motif (visual arts), motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbo ...

canvas bag. Giannini attempted to change Gucci's style from

's designs by drawing from Gucci's heritage. Based on the 1960s

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...

scarf, she developed the "Flora" collection of colorful bags. The collection was not well received by critics. In 2006,

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides i ...

commented: "Trends do not start here." However, Flora proved to be Giannini's first commercial success, and she applied the style to other accessories, including ballet shoes. In 2006, Giannini was promoted to Creative Director for the entire Gucci label. Giannini continues to design from heritage. For example, the 2010 Winter Men's line was noted for influences from Gucci's equestrian history. However, Giannini says, "I don't think it is a nostalgic collection, but heritage is good for me—going back to the archives, but looking forward to the future." In 2011, she created, in collaboration with Lapo Elkann, the

Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 (, ) is an Economy car, economy / city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975. It was sold as a two-door semi-convertible or saloon car and as a three-door panel van or estate car. Launched ...

by Gucci, a special edition of the Italian car. She was credited for softening Gucci's brand proposition from

's porno-chic to sensual, with hints of Art Nouveau and ''fin de siècle'', and to have introduced the brand's androgynous stance that Alessandro Michele later fully developed. On 12 December 2014 Kering SA announced Frida Giannini and Patrizio di Marco will be leaving the company. Giannini saw the fall/winter collection through to the

Milan Fashion Week Milan Fashion Week () is a clothing trade show held semi-annually in Milan, Italy. Upcoming autumn/winter fashions are showcased in February/March of each year, and upcoming spring/summer fashions are showcased in September/October of each year ...

and departed in early 2015. Her successor is Alessandro Michele.

Film work

In 2013 Giannini designed costumes for

Olivia Wilde Olivia Wilde (born Olivia Jane Cockburn, , March 10, 1984) is an American actress and director. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' (2007–2012), and appeared ...

and Chris Hemsworth in the film '' Rush''.

Philanthropy

Giannini has for years supported

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, receiving in 2011 the UNICEF Women of Compassion award. In 2013, together with

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most culturally significant figu ...

and

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

, she and Gucci launched Chime for Change, created with the goal of supporting women's and girls' education, health services and justice. Giannini has been a member of the board of

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

since 2017, for which she has made field trips to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. For a humanitarian project in partnership with retailer OVS in 2018, she created a Christmas capsule collection of sweaters benefiting Save the Children.

Personal life

Giannini married Patrizio Di Marco on 5 June 2015; their daughter Greta was born in 2012. The couple separated in 2019. Giannini collects

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...

s, with her collection currently at 8,000.

Media

The life and work of Giannini was the subject of 2013 film '' The Director - An Evolution in Three Acts'', directed by Christina Voros and starring

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Giannini, Frida Living people 1972 births Fashion designers from Rome Italian fashion designers Italian women fashion designers 2000s fashion