The Italian designer, one of the founders of Made in Italy BIOGRAPHY The Italian designer, one of the founders of Made in Italy BIOGRAPHY Born and raised in Rome, Piattelli attended the well-known Visconti “liceo” there before continuing his stu- dies, in law, at the Roman La Sapienza Univerity. He began his career helping in his father’s atelier in Piazza S. Sylvestro in Rome, which, when he started, already had a select and international clientele. Within only a few years time, Piattelli’s work was noticed by clothing and fabric manufacturers which lead to collaboration with important domestic and international fashion houses. Contracts were signed with: D’Avenza, Ellesse, Petronius, Lanerossi and Sanremo. He designed collections for Burberry’s of London and D’Urban of Tokyo. He collaborated with the NASA Space Mission designing knitwear for the astronauts. He created the uniforms for Zambia Airlines male and female flight attendants and for the hostesses of Dunhill of London. He made the uniforms for Alitalia’s male ground personnel and he dressed the Italian National Olympic Teams in Mexico City in 1968 and Atlanta in 1996. Piattelli Corners were opened in some of the most prestigious luxury department stores and shops such as Liberty’s in London, Barney’s in New York, Louis in Boston, The Executive in Johannesburg in South Africa. In Asia, Piattelli Corners were opened Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo in Takashimaya, Mitsukoshi and Sei- bu luxury department stores. An invitation from the government of the Chinese People’s Republic to do a study of the clothing manufac- turing industry lead to a new adventure – a joint venture with the clothing manufacturing industry in China. The HongDu Piattelli Textile & Fashion Co., LTD in Beijing was born. Piattelli models are on display in the fashion sections of the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Vic- toria and Albert Museum in London. Piattelli’s qualities as a designer are evident when he has dedicated his passion and ardour to cinema and the theater. He created the costumes for all of Marcello Mastroianni’s films and for those of many other Italian actors and actresses (Nino Manfredi, Virna Lisi, Ugo Tognazzi, Gina Lollobrigida, Alberto Sordi, Franco Nero, Gian Maria Volonte, Sylva Koscina) as well as for more internationally known performers (Michel Piccoli, Richard Johnson, Mickey Rooney, Costa Gavras, Pierre Clementi, George Segal and Orson Wells). He has worked hand in hand with film directors of the caliber of Franco Zeffirelli, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio De Sica. A new experience for Piattelli and theater was when he used his talent to create the costumes for Carlo Tritto’s version of the Commedia Italiana “Rosso, nero, fume”, directed by Roman Viktjuk, for the company of David Smelianky’s Satyricom Theater in Moscow. A patron of the arts, in 2002, on behalf of the Fondazione Roma, he founded, together with Francesco La Vecchia, the artistic director, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma (Italy’s first private orchestra) of which he is president. Publishing is another of his passions. He has dedicated his attention in the past to the publishing of rare books about Rome and all of the arts that have represented the city. He returned to publishing when he began to work with “Parnasso”, owned by his friend Lino Cascioli. He returned to the publishing world in the very specific, yet universal, field of enology (wine production) with particular attention to the domestic Italian production. In collaboration with 2 of the best know experts in the field, Massimo Comparini and Ian D’Agata, he published the “Guida Annuale dei Migliori 200 Vini Italiani” (Annual Guide to the 200 Best Italian Wines). The Dean of Italian High Fashion Men’s Wear INTERWIEW We went to interview him in his atelier (studio) in Piazza Colonna in Rome to learn more about his work and his opinion on fashion today. On first entrance into the atelier, one cannot avoid noticing the many photos, including many celebrities. When did you begin working? I come from a family which has worked in this field for generations. From my earliest days, I remember hearing stories of the essential components of fashion: fabrics, models, style and clients. Is there a specific moment that you began working? As soon as I finished high school, more or less at the end of the war, I noticed that strange characters were offering us Italian made merchandise but labeling it as made abroad. I was intriqued and decided to design a collection and present it to the foreign market. I had begun a type of venture which at the time did not exist but has since become an international business. Please, clarify. My business relations with Italian manufacturers allowed me to become a style consultant, which still today is at the core of my work. I design collections for men and women’s wear, for a total look, for some of the most prestigious companies in the field which then, based on licensing agreements, manufacture and distribute the various articles under my label in the USA, Japan, Britain, France and even in China. There is a particular incident in my past which regards me personally but also Italian fashion in general. In 1970, I met Fred Pressman, owner of the most famous men’s wear shop in the world, Barney’s of New York. At the time, 5 floors of the building were dedicated to retail sales and 5 floors were used for alterations and adjustments. We got along famously on our first encounter. Our mutual respect and affection lasted until his dying day and our exceptional business relationship with Barneys continues still today. I introduced all the Italian designers to Mr. Pressman who fell in love with Italy and demonstrated it by opening corners for them in his new downtown store, for which I helped him design the layout. Subsequently, Barney’s moved to Madison Avenue. His workshop... This is another story. When the war was over, the film industry moved to Rome and, given my passion for cinema, my great love affair with theater and cinema was inevitable. I have worked with all of the great directors and with the best Ita- lian, and foreign, stage and film actors. If I were to draw up a list of their names, it would fill up a newspaper... Among the countries you cited, there are none from the Far East. During the years, some illustrious clients came to me privately but not with proposals that I thought I could work with. For the record, I have to say that of all of my work with the theater, I feel honored to have made the costumes for the cast of Carlo Titto’s commedia italiana performed at Moscow’s Satryicon Theater. And what about China? The Chinese government invited me to conduct a study of industrial fabric production and the manufacture of clothing. As often happens when one encounters others with shared interests and knowledge, friendship and collaboration result. The end result was that I helped create an extremely modern men’s wear clothing production in Beijing and the friendly rapport created continues to this day. SHOWROOM IN THE WORLD KYOTO - Iseitan Store 1976 KYOTO - Iseitan Store 1976 KYOTO - Iseitan Store 1976 KYOTO - Iseitan Store 1976 TOKIO - Tokyu Store 1976 TOKIO - Tokyu Store 1976 LONDON - 1979 TOKYO - Takashimaya store - 1979 BANGKOK - 1979 HONK KONG - 1979 SWISSE - Pkz ROME - Via Convertite 1969 ROME - Via Nazionale 1921 GERMANY- SHOWROOM ATELIER ADVERTISING NEW YORK GERMANY FOR THE WORLD VOGUE Was born in Rome and taste of man. This is the story. MADE IN ITALY 50 years of history assembled in a photo collection, newspaper articles, letters and scraps of memory. The order of dates and vague recollection are in themselves not really important. What is important is the substan- ce or the big picture. There is no need to read through the records, nor in my opinion for yet another fashion biography. The dates may not be in order and some names may escape me. Rattling off episodes, names of places and thoughts are not essential. What is important is to evoke the sensations, impressions and details which can help understand the exciting and frenetic atmosphere in which the adventure took place. When fashion was still based on the gossip of he seamstresses and milliners in Torino and a few others scattered along the Italian peninsula, they chatted about the outfits in American films and tried to imagine their colors. Who ever bothered to mention the name the costume designers of those fabulous outfits in black and white? Then Hollywood discovered Rome and all the stars, whether they knew it or not, became am- bassadors of our tailoring expertise and spread the word about Italy’s centuries old sartorial skills around the world. The excitement rose every six months. The presentations were no longer just fashion shows; with dozens of newspapers represented and hundreds of reporters and photographer, the fashion shows had become “events”. Just what firms try to invent today. “Made in Italy” was growing. High fashion had started the whole thing but eventually it became evident that some form of organization was needed. Paolo Marinotti had made an initial attempt in Milan by promoting, with the Centro Italiano della Moda, the Snia Viscosa fibers. The Ente Italiano della Moda, together with the Fondazione Gianni Agnelli, headed by Amos Ciabattoni, had kept an eye on the development and invited us all to Torino where we met with sociologists and others in order to evaluate the current situation and prospects for the future. The need to organize was finally satisfied with the birth of the Camera Nazionale dell’Alta Moda Italiana.