Vincenzo Ferdinandi

Vincenzo Ferdinandi (29 November 1920 - 22 April 1990) was an Italian designer among the founders of Italian haute couture.^[1][2]

Vincenzo Ferdinandi
Vincenzo Ferdinandi in 1950
Born	1920 Newark, New Jersey, US
Died	1990 Rome, Italy
Occupation	fashion designer

Biography

Born in the United States, he moved to Italy in the early 1950s to open an atelier in Rome in the fashionable Via Veneto.^[3]

He was among the first great haute couture designers to compete with the French in the international arena. In 1949 he was in Paris, called by Christian Dior for a stylistic collaboration with the French maison. After that experience, London also called him to design a line of shoes that he completed with creativity and all-Italian creativity^[4]

Together with other names of the Italian fashion of the time such as Roberto Capucci, the Sartoria Antonelli, the atelier Carosa, Giovannelli-Sciarra, Germana Marucelli, Polinober, the Sartoria Vanna and Jole Veneziani, he participated in 1952 in the first historical parade at the Sala Bianca in Palazzo Pitti in Florence. A very young Oriana Fallaci sent by the weekly Epoca told the news^[5][6]

In 1953, together with other major names of the time (including Emilio Schuberth, the Sorelle Fontana, Alberto Fabiani, Jole Veneziani, Giovannelli-Sciarra, Mingolini-Guggenheim, Eleonora Garnett, Simonetta), he founded the SIAM - Italian High Fashion Syndicate^[7] (later to become the National Chamber of Italian Fashion). In July 1954, together with the Sorelle Fontana, Emilio Schuberth, Giovannelli Sciarra, Garnett and Mingolini-Guggenheim he took part in "Alta Moda in Castel Sant'Angelo". On that occasion, the American Sally Kirkland,^[8] Fashion Editor of Life and of Vogue, was awarded for her role as ambassador of Italian fashion in the United States.

Defying the conventions of the time (it was in the early fifties), he is the first to show an afro-American girl in a fashion parade, the young model Dolores Francine Rhiney.^[9][10] His creations are worn by actresses and famous women of those years. Jennifer Jones, May Britt,^[11] Virna Lisi, Sylva Koscina, Isabella Albonico, Eloisa Cianni,^[12] Lucia Bosè, Lilli Cerasoli,^[13][14] Ivy Nicholson,^[15] Loredana Pavone,^[16][17][18] Joe Patterson,^[19] Anna Maria Ghislanzoni, Marta Marzotto and a very young Elsa Martinelli^[20] are some of these^[21]

In 2014, the Maxxi museum in Rome as part of the "Bellissima"^[22] exhibition numbers him among the pioneers of Italian fashion^[23]

References

1. "Ferdinandi, Vincenzo nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". www.treccani.it.
2. "Ferdinandi Vincenzo | Archivi della moda del novecento".
3. . Archived from the original on 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. . Archived from the original on 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "Epoca n.95/1952" (PDF).
6. "Fallaci". September 27, 2015.
7. "Sindacato Italiano Alta Moda". October 30, 2013.
8. "Zoe Fontana, Vincenzo Ferdinandi, Sally Kirkland, Emilio Schuberth and Alice Parkings at Castel Sant'Angelo".
9. "Vincenzo Ferdinandi and Francine Rhiney in 1952".
10. "Donyale". February 25, 2011.
11. "Ferdinandi and May Britt".
12. "Miss Italy 1953 Eloisa Cianni and Ferdinandi".
13. "Lilli Cerasoli and Vincenzo Ferdinandi - 1953".
14. "cover of Bella - Lilli Cerasoli with a Ferdinandi model".
15. "Ivy Nicholson in red tailleur".
16. . Archived from the original on 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. "Loredana Pavone wearing tailleur, hat and gloves by Ferdinandi- 1954".
18. "Italian Collections Notebook | Vogue | September 15, 1952". Vogue | The Complete Archive.
19. . Archived from the original on 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
20. . Archived from the original on 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
21. "#tailleurferdinandi Instagram posts - Ispics.com". ispics.com.
22. "Maxxi Museum - Bellissima".
23. "news".

Further reading

• Giovanna Motta, Antonello Biagini (11 June 2018). Fashion through History: Costumes, Symbols, Communication (Volume 2). Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 11 giu 2018. ISBN 9781527511965.
• Guido Vergani. The Sala Bianca: The Birth of Italian Fashion. Electa, Milan, 1992.
• Bellissima - Italy and High Fashion. Mondadori Electa, 2014.

External links

• Ferdinandi Alta Moda