Romeo Gigli (born 1949) is an Italian fashion designer who was described in the late 1980s as singlehandedly changing the course of fashion by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''.

Early life

Gigli was born in

Castel Bolognese Castel Bolognese () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southwest of Ravenna. As of 2006, it has a population of about 9,000 inhabitants. Ca ...

. Orphaned at the age of 18, he went travelling for the next decade, eventually finding his way to New York City in 1977, where he frequented the nightclub

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

and met

Bianca Jagger Bianca Jagger (born Blanca Pérez-Mora Macías; 2 May 1945)

. His style in New York was admired and he was asked to consult on fashion for the designer Piero Dimitri.

Career

Returning to Italy, Gigli studied fashion before establishing his first label in 1981. This failed three years later, at which point he established a partnership with

Carla Sozzani Carla Sozzani (born 1947) is an Italian book and magazine editor, gallerist, and businesswoman. She founded the Galleria Carla Sozzani in 1989 and is the creator of 10 Corso Como, an art and fashion establishment in Milan. Early life and educati ...

. In 1985, a 25-piece collection was shown in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. This was bought by the high-end fashion retailers Browns in

South Molton Street South Molton Street is a street in Mayfair, London, that runs from Oxford Street to Brook Street. Bond Street tube station, Bond Street Underground station is at the north end of the street. The street was built in the mid-18th century as part ...

, London and Joyce in Hong Kong. By 1986, Gigli was gaining a strong international reputation and influenced other designers with what the ''Los Angeles Times'' described as "soft look, body-hugging dresses with draped bubble skirts". Gigli's original base on Corso Como, Milan was joined by stores in Manhattan and the

Marais Marais (, meaning "marsh") may refer to: People * Marais (given name) * Marais (surname) Other uses * Le Marais, historic district of Paris * Théâtre du Marais, the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France * Marais (com ...

area of Paris. His collections also moved from Milan to Paris. Shortly before his Paris debut in 1989, ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' had declared that Gigli was the: “leading force in a new generation of designers proclaiming a different fashion sensibility".

Brand hallmarks

His understated and romantic designs, featuring shawl collars, dropped shoulders and narrow fitted trousers or tulip-shaped skirts worn with flat shoes were seen as the antithesis of the 1980s

power dressing Power dressing is a fashion style born in the second half of the 1970s and developed in the 1980s that enables women to establish their authority in a professional and political environment traditionally dominated by men. History The term ''power ...

trend and some predicted he would become the

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

of the 1990s. His designs were replicated on the high street and he developed a lucrative perfume range.

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen (brand), Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His ac ...

was among his fashion assistants, joining the designer in 1989.

1990s on

A dispute with his business partners in 1991 meant Gigli lost control of parts of the Gigli brand. He continued to collaborate with other designers and retail brands, including

Barneys New York Barneys New York is an American brand founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman that operated full-line department stores from 1923 until 2020. Authentic Brands Group acquired Barneys' intellectual property in 2019, and has licensed the brand to Saks F ...

, Callaghan,

Donghia Donghia is an American brand of decoration for furniture, textiles, lighting, and accessories. Italian-American interior designer Angelo Donghia founded Donghia in 1968. It is currently owned by Kravet Inc. Donghia collections include textiles, ...

and

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...

, also teaching fashion in Milan. In 2012, a Romeo Gigli collaboration with Joyce was made available online and at Calle de Ridotto, Venice. Gigli served as artistic director for CP Company in Italy with a strong Japan market until 1997. He now lives in Marrakech Morocco, where he is collaborating with El Fenn, according to luxury travel magazine.https://airmail.news/issues/2022-3-12/wherefore-art-thou-romeo-giglihttps://www.luxurytravelmagazine.com/news-articles/marrakechs-el-fenn-adds-exclusive-romeo-gigli-collection-to-its-hotel-boutique

References

External links