Color of Designers

Emilio Pucci at work via lifeinitaly.com

Every designer marked an age in their own way, a particular cut, an element, or an innovative material. This happened also through the invention or the choice of a particular color that even inherited the name of the designer, making them immortal.

It was Jeanne Lanvin in the 20s to have the first color bearing her name: Lanvin Blue. It was a pale cobalt blue; rumors said that Madame Lanvin was inspired by the sky in Beato Angelico’s frescos.

During the mid-30s an Italian woman shook the Parisian bourgeoisie with her creations: Elsa Schiaparelli. Her clothes were surreal and provoking and so was her fragrance. The bottle, designed by Léonor Fini, inspired by Mae West’s curves and sold ina box of an extraordinary bright shade, in the color of Fuchsia flowers; it was lively, striking, and brazen. It was renamed Shocking pink, like the perfume itself.

Within the 50s another Italian became famous for his use of color, Emilio Pucci. He was shocked by the dreadful quality of color palette presented by print works; therefore he produced the first summer collection in 1949, which was entirely in black and white. He designed swimsuits, sundresses, shirts and trousers with ground-breaking and convenient shapes, but he felt he had to add colors. Therefore in the following season he made up by creating his own touch, among which the Capri Blue, inspired by the colors of the Blue Grotto in Capri and the Emilio Pink, dedicated to the bougainvillea that decorated every little street of the island.

While Valentino’s legendary Red appeared in the 60s, the story set offs during his Parisian training period, while he was on holiday in Spain. One night at Barcelona’s Liceu Theater, the fiery red costumes in a scene struck him and thought that any woman, if entering a room wearing that color, could have the same paralyzing effect. It then became his unmistakable signature, in any collection there was at least one item in that color and it inevitably entered the most important wardrobes in the world.

In 1972 the Biagiotti White was established, one that the Lady of cashmere’ showed at a runway at Palazzo Pitti in a collection of few white clothes which were wearable and adaptable to any moment of the day, a modern way of dressing but also a symbol of simplicity and peace that is a classic Laura Biagiotti.