Fernanda Gattinoni (1906-2002) was working at Molyneux in 1924. After six years she was apprenticed to the Italian fashion house Ventura, under Madam Anna. By 1934, she was the director of the newly-opened Rome Ventura Atelier, which was frequented by many film stars clients including Ingrid Bergman, Lucia Bosè, Ava Gardner, Kim Novak, Princess Margaret and Jackie Kennedy.
By the 1950s and 1960s she collaborated with the film studios and is noted for creating the wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn in War and Peace, obtaining an Oscar nomination. She employed 25 full time embroiderers to work on her indulgent, opulent wedding dresses; her signature gowns came to epitomize the romance of cultured European sophistication.
From the mid-1980s the tradition was upheld by Fernanda’s son, Raniero, who reinvented the Gattioni style through ready-to-wear lines alongside the long-established couture label.
Raniero has a London University degree in Arts and Philosophy. After a work experience at Mary Quant and Harrods, he began working as a designer in the 1970s. He designed knitwear collections for some prestigious Italian companies. In 1985, the National Chamber of Fashion invited him to show his collections in highly respected Piazza di Spagna.
Today the Gattinoni label is carried on several ready-to-wear lines under license.
Written by sarasattic.co.uk
from an early 1960s knit top
Courtesy of coutureallure
from a 1962 dress
Courtesy of Enrico Quinto and Paolo Tinarelli collection
from a 1990s scarf
Courtesy of catwalkcreativevintage
