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😉 Greetings, dear readers! Gentlemen, I bring to your attention the article “Nina Ricci: Biography of a French Fashion Designer”, an interesting story of the creator of a famous brand.
Fashion designer Nina Ricci
Maria Adelaide Nielli was born in Turin, Italy on January 14, 1883 (the zodiac sign is Capricorn). Her father was a shoemaker. When the girl was five years old, the family moved to Florence, and later to Monte Carlo. Soon the father dies, and the family finds itself without a livelihood.
Maria decided to earn money and went to get a job as a student in a sewing studio. Financial difficulties in the family forced her to work in a haberdashery store, but she continued to study sewing skills in the evenings.
A year later, she gets to work in one of the Fashion houses. She is entrusted (despite her obvious talent) with the small work: sewing on buttons, ironing or steaming. But already at the age of 22 she opens her atelier. Many shops in Paris became interested in her work.
The history of the name
In 1904, a flower grower named Ricci enters her life, after an accidental acquaintance she marries him. However, the marriage was short-lived, and remains alone with the child. But the young woman was not taken aback and literally the next year the world learned about Nina Ricci.
Why Nina and not Maria or Adelaide? The fact is that since childhood, the family called her Nina, this was her affectionate household nickname. She got used to him so much that she began her creative career as Nina Ricci.
Fashion house in Paris
In 1908, the talented fashion designer was invited to work, and later to head the Ruffin Fashion House. After some time, she is a co-owner of the company and a wealthy, successful lady.
In 1932, Nina founded the Fashion House in Paris. It has become a truly family business. Her son Robert (by that time he had become an adult, educated man) was in charge of all affairs, and she was engaged in creativity. The business flourished, and within a few years this small empire employed more than 500 workers.
She sewed for the bourgeois (middle class) who preferred sturdy, well-cut and inexpensive clothing. Prices for costumes from Nina Ricci were half, and sometimes three times, lower than those of Lanvin or Poirot. Another direction was the creation of wedding dresses. It was Ricci who became the leader in the field of wedding fashion.
The history of famous spirits
During the war, the business had to be frozen, clothes were sold little, and in 1945 there was a reorientation to haute couture. Robert organized the first Paris Fashion Week, which was attended by many famous couturiers of the time (for example, Cristobal Balenciaga).
The next year, the Fashion House released a perfume. This is a very delicate fragrance, according to legend, created by Robert for his beloved. The scent of jasmine and hydrangea is combined with the scent of a rose … a unique and unique combination, at the same time very simple.
A life-long affair
In the late fifties of the last century, Nina Ricci retired, but still followed the process. The creative department of the Fashion House was first headed by Jules-François Krae, who then went to Lanvin. And then Gerard Pipard, his taste completely coincided with the taste and style of Ricci herself.
Dove and Apple
The symbols of the house at this time were the apple and the dove. This logo is familiar all over the world.
In 1970, at the age of 87, Nina Ricci passed away. But her Fashion House continued to work. It was headed first by her son, and then by her grandchildren. During this time, many ateliers and shops were opened around the world.
Now the Fashion House is more and more focused on the production of perfumes, watches and jewelry. It is no longer a family business, but the spirit of Nina Ricci continues to preserve her life’s work.
By the way, at the same time, Coco Chanel lived and worked in Paris. It’s amazing that the years of the lives of Nina Ricci (1883-1970) and Coco Chanel (1883-1971) coincided!
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