Italian fashion | History | Top 10 Italian fashion brands

Italian fashion

Italian fashion is associated with the most common concept of "Made in Italy", a merchandise brand that expresses creativity and craftsmanship excellence. Italy is one of the leading countries in fashion design along with France, the USA, and the UK. Fashion has always been an important part of the country's cultural life and society, and Italians are well known for their attention to clothing; La Bella figura, or good looks, retains its traditional importance. Italian luxury goods are renowned for the quality of textiles and the elegance and refinement of their construction. Many French, British, and American high-end luxury brands (such as Chanel, Dior, Balmain, and the main lines of Ralph Lauren) also rely on Italian artisan factories, located in the metropolitan area of Naples and in highly specialized areas in the center of Italy, to produce some of their clothing and accessories.

Luxury sportswear and streetwear have become common fashion trends, mixing high and low, formal and active styles in one look, and in Italy in this category, the big luxury brands focus on creating their own street style lines or ready-to-wear items. Top brands with a strong sports heritage such as Gucci, Fendi, Moschino, and Prada or Bikkembergs have got some high-end companies focusing on this style like GCDS, and OFF White founded by the American Virgil Abloh but based in Milan, Stone Island. In sportswear, some of the most prominent houses are Diadora, Fila, and Kappa.

Italian fashion history

Italian fashion became prominent between the 11th and 16th centuries when artistic development in Italy was at its peak. Cities such as Rome, Palermo, Venice, Milan, Naples, Florence, and Vicenza began to produce luxury goods, hats, cosmetics, jewelry, and rich fabrics. From the 17th century to the early 20th century, Italian fashion lost its importance and luster and France became the main trendsetter in Europe with the great popularity of French fashion. This is due to the luxurious clothing Louis XIV designed for his courtiers. In 2009, according to Global Language Monitor, Milan, Italy's center of design, was ranked as the world's top fashion capital, and Rome was fourth, although both cities fell in the next ranking. In 2011, Florence entered as the 31st World Fashion Capital. Milan is generally considered one of the "big four" global fashion capitals, along with New York, Paris, and London.

At the time Renaissance, Italian city-states like Florence were centers of fashion innovation. For the next several centuries, Paris dominated the world of fashion. Of course, fashions were produced in Italy at the time, but they were generally derived from French styles. Only since the 1950s has Italy acquired its own distinct identity as a source of fashionable clothing for other places of the world.

The rise of the "Italian look" has drawn on important historical advantages, such as the existence of a tradition of fine craftsmanship in the production of textiles, luxury leather goods, high-quality tailoring, and other businesses important to the fashion system. Mariano Fortuny's artistic textiles and clothing were internationally well-known in the decades before World War II, as were the exquisite men's wool suiting fabrics woven by Ermenegildo Zegna and fine accessories by Ferragamo and Gucci. Still, it is symbolic of Italy's relative invisibility on the international fashion scene that Italy's most famous pre-war designer, Elsa Schiaparelli, is based in Paris.

Commercial and cultural relations between Italy and America played an important role in the postwar development of Italian fashion. One manifestation of this was the close connection between the worlds of film and fashion. The constant, unsettled competition between Florence and Rome, each with its own fashion show schedule, contributed to the rise of Milan, which emerged as the center of Italian fashion for both men and women in the 1970s. Armani revolutionized menswear in the 1970s, creating unstructured jackets that were as comfortable as sweaters and that radiated an air of seductive elegance.

In the early 2000s, the Italian fashion system integrated research into new methods of design and production with the sophisticated production of modern clothing, comfort tailoring, luxury leather goods and knitwear, and innovations in threads, yarns, and fabrics.

Today, Milan and Rome are the fashion capitals of Italy, and major international centers of fashion design, competing with other cities such as Tokyo, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and New York.

Top 10 Italian fashion brands

i. Gucci

ii. Prada

iii. Dolce & Gabbana

iv. Miu Miu

v. Fendi

vi. Valentino

vii. Bottega Veneta

viii. Versace

ix. Max Mara

x. Giorgio Armani

Gucci

Gucci is one of the world's leading Italian fashion brands that was Founded in Florence, Italy in 1921. After the house's centenary, Gucci continues to redefine fashion and luxury while celebrating creativity, Italian craftsmanship, and innovation. It is part of the global luxury group Kering, which operates houses renowned for fashion, leather goods, jewelry, and eyewear. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, home decor, fragrances, and beauty cosmetics. In 2019, Gucci operated 487 stores for 17,157 employees and generated sales of €9.628 billion. Marco Bizzarri was the CEO of Gucci from December 2014 and Alessandro Michele was the creative director from January 2015 to November 23, 2022.

Prada

Prada is an Italian fashion brand founded in Milan in 1913 by Mario Prada. Pioneering the dialogue with contemporary society across diverse cultural fields and an influential leader in luxury fashion, the Prada Group finds its identity in essential values such as creative freedom, transformation, and sustainable development, offering its brands a shared vision to interpret and express their spirit. The group manufactures and distributes ready-to-wear collections, leather goods, and footwear in more than 70 countries through a network of 633 stores as well as e-commerce channels, selected e-tailers, and department stores worldwide. The group, which also operates in the eyewear and fragrance sectors through licensing agreements, has 23 owned factories and around 13,000 employees.

Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian fashion brand founded in Legnano in 1985 by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmetics and licenses the Luxottica name and branding for eyewear. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, with only two million lire in their pockets, thus began to write the history of the brand they founded in 1985, giving life to an all-Italian dream built on artisanal, tailoring traditions, Mediterranean culture, a flair for innovation, and a pinch of irony. The first clothing collection will follow over time with a wide and varied offer, an expression of dedication, study, and research: a virtuous path that culminates in 2012 with the dream of high fashion. Behind every Dolce & Gabbana creation lies the secrets of craftsmanship, dedication to work, attention to detail, and love of beauty. For more than thirty-five years, Dolce & Gabbana has been inspired by Italian art, heritage, and culture to offer clothes, accessories, jewelry, and watches that embody a unique heritage of knowledge and passion. In 2021, revenue €1.5 billion, net income €60.5 million, and the number of employees 3150.

Miu Miu

Miu Miu is an Italian fashion brand of the Prada Group. Introduced by Miuccia Prada in 1992, Miu Miu was inspired by Miu Miu's personal wardrobe and named after her family nickname. With an independent identity from Prada, the brand has become one of the world's leading high fashion labels. It was publicly launched in 1993 with a collection of cowgirl-themed fringed suede jackets and patchwork prairie skirts. Starting in 1994, the brand showed its collections in the United States for three seasons. It first showed a womenswear collection during Paris Fashion Week in 2006. In 2011, Miu Miu launched the Women's Story series the campaign consists of short films produced in collaboration with high-profile female directors. The result was a list of short, silent films featuring Miu Miu's collections. In 2020, Miu Miu introduced Upcycled by Miu Miu, a limited collection of vintage clothing from the 1940s to the 1970s that has been tweaked and restyled.

Fendi

Fendi is an Italian fashion brand that produces fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces, and accessories. The House of Fendi was founded in Rome in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo Fendi. When the first Fendi boutique opened a handbag store and a fur workshop followed. Soon gaining international acclaim, FENDI emerged as a brand famous for its elegance, craftsmanship, innovation, and style. The collaboration with the late Karl Lagerfeld began in 1965 and lasted 54 years, with Silvia Venturini Fendi supporting him in an artistic direction in 1992. In 1994 he was given the direction of the leather goods accessories and then the menswear line. In 2000 the LVMH group became the majority shareholder of FENDI 2001. In September 2020 Kim Jones was appointed artistic director of couture and womenswear, while Delfina Delettrez Fendi, the fourth generation of the Fendi family, joined the Maison as artistic director of jewelry.

Valentino

Valentino is an Italian fashion brand founded in 1960 by Valentino Garavani and part of the Valentino Fashion Group. Maison Valentino is a hero of international fashion, and from 2008 to 2016, underwent an influential creative evolution. It's headquartered in Milan, while the creative side is in Rome. Maison Valentino plays a leading role in the luxury segment through tradition and innovation, a necessary combination for a creative industry that creates a sense of beauty. Valentino's fashion is represented through the Haute Couture and Prêt-à-Porter lines for women and men, and the Valentino Garvani accessories line, which includes shoes, bags, small leather goods, eyewear, scarves, ties, and fragrances. An aesthetic universe, present in more than 100 countries through 175 Valentino directly-operated boutiques and more than 1500 sales points. 7th July 2016: Valentino names Pierpaolo Piccioli as Maison's sole creative director.

Bottega Veneta

Bottega Veneta is an Italian fashion brand based in Milan, Italy. Its product line includes ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, accessories, jewelry, etc. It was founded in 1966 in Vicenza, Italy by Michele Taddei and Renzo Genziaro. In 1972, Bottega Veneta opened its first store in the United States in New York City. In the 1990s, Bottega Veneta launched its first ready-to-wear collection. In February 2001, Gucci, a subsidiary of Kering, acquired Bottega Veneta for $156 million. The following May, Patrizio Di Marco was appointed CEO, and in June Thomas Mayer became creative director. The brand launched a fashion jewelry line in 2002, followed by a fine jewelry line in 2006. Bottega Veneta presented its first women's ready-to-wear runway show in February 2005 and its first men's runway show in June 2006. In June 2011, Bottega. Veneta launches its first women's fragrance Eau de Parfum. In 2012, Bottega Veneta's sales reached the $1 billion mark. In 2020, Bottega Veneta's sales reached 1.140 billion euros. In late 2021, Kering hired former Bottega Veneta design director Matthew Blazey as the company's new creative director, who is expected to maintain Lee's new Bottega style. Under Blazy, the Bottega Veneta show has returned to Milan and the company has revealed plans to move its headquarters to Milan's Palazzo San Fedele before the end of 2023.

Versace

Versace is an Italian fashion brand/company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for its bold prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made clothing and accessories, as well as haute couture under its Atelier Versace brand, and licenses Luxottica's name and branding for eyewear. Gianni Versace, a native of Calabria in ancient Magna Grecia, the company's logo is inspired by Medusa from Greek mythology. Gianni independently controlled much of the brand, from designing to retailing. In 1982, the company expanded its offerings to include accessories, jewelry, home furnishings, and china. In 1993, Donatella added the Versace Young Versace, and Versace lines. As the company's profits declined in the early 2000s, Fabio Massimo Cacciatori was hired as interim CEO in 2003 to restructure and restructure the Versace Group. In February 2014, Blackstone Group bought a 20 percent stake in Versace for 210 million euros. As of 2016, more than 1500 boutiques operate worldwide; in 2017, revenues grew to €1.7 billion, and the number of employees was 1500.

Giorgio Armani

Armani is an Italian fashion brand founded by Giorgio Armani in Milan that designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and home interiors. Armani and his partner, the architect Sergio Galeotti, founded Giorgio Armani S.p.A. in 1975, with proceeds from the sale of Armani's Volkswagen. Armani licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear; L’Oreal for perfumes and cosmetics; and fossils for watches and jewelry. It is considered the second-largest fashion group in Italy after Prada. It has 10,500 direct employees, 12 manufacturing facilities, and more than 2,704 boutiques in 60 countries around the world. It designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails fashion and lifestyle products; its brand names are Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, and A|X Armani Exchange.

Diesel

Diesel S.p.A. is an Italian fashion brand, based in Bregagno, Italy. It has long been a pioneer in denim and casual fashion, known for going beyond and ahead of industry trends. Despite Diesel's phenomenal growth, its philosophy remains the same as when Renzo Rosso created it in 1978: he envisioned a brand that would stand for emotion, personality, and self-expression while the brand continued to follow its own path. It thrives on change: each new product emerges from a process of enormous creative freedom, ensuring continuous innovation. The collection includes Diesel, Diesel Black Gold, and Diesel Kid. Diesel is not just clothes and denim: it is a lifestyle, which is explained by the licensing of leading brands to develop watches and jewelry (with Fossil), glasses (with Marcolin), perfumes (with L'Oréal), helmets (with AGV), strollers (including Bugaboo), and a complete Living Collection. It is truly a global company and is present in more than 80 countries with 5,000 sales points, including more than 400 company-owned stores and a revenue of €2.9 billion.