Krizia is a
designer label and manufacturer of ladies'
handbags, clothing, footwear and perfumes. The ready-to-wear fashion label was established in 1954 in
Milan, Italy, by
Mariuccia Mandelli (1925–2015).
Her husband Aldo Pinto was chairman of the company.
History
Mandelli unveiled her first black-and-white collection at the
Palazzo Pitti in
Florence, Italy
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...
, in 1964, which earned her a Critica della Moda award.
The brand's first and historic location was on
Via della Spiga, 23 in Milan.
Under Mandelli, Krizia rapidly expanded during the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1971, Krizia released a version of shorts cut "very short", an early form of
hot pants.
Every year, Mandelli would knit a different animal on selected items of her collection.
In 1985, Krizia opened a private art showroom (Spazio Krizia) on Via Manin, 21, in Milan.
At its height, in the 1990s, the
fashion house was doing half a billion dollars of annual business.
It was while at the helm of Krizia that Mandelli introduced the high fashion world to
hot pants. In 1992, the company launched its affordable brand MM by Krizia, a year after its licence-holder
Hartmarx suggested it. In 1995, the company was trialed in the USA, along with many other Italian fashion brands, for "bribing tax officers in exchange for lenient audits". In Italy, the investigation was handled by
Mani pulite
(; ) was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the First Italian Republic and the disappearance of many political parties. Some politicians and industry leade ...
's magistrate
Antonio Di Pietro.
In February 2014, Shenzhen Marisfrolg, a Chinese corporation owned by the entrepreneur and designer Zhu Chongyun, bought Krizia and Mandelli stepped down from a leadership role.
In 2015, the Via della Spiga's historic store was revamped by designer
Vincenzo de Cotiis.
In January 2017, Simona Clemenza was named CEO of the company.
Two Krizia boutiques opened in China, and in March 2017, the Spazio Krizia reopened.
In June 2018, Clemenza left the company.
See also
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Italian fashion
Italy is one of the leading countries in fashion design, alongside France and the United Kingdom. Fashion has always been an important part of the country's cultural life and society, and Italians are well known for their attention to dress; ''la ...
*
Made in Italy
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Clothing companies established in 1954
Italian companies established in 1954
Clothing brands of Italy
Italian suit makers
High fashion brands
Shoe companies of Italy
Manufacturing companies based in Milan
Fashion accessory brands
Perfume houses