Website: www.romeogigli.it
Romeo Gigli was born in Bologna, Italy in 1951. He comes from a wealthy aristocratic family. His childhood was saturated in art history and over 20,000 antiquarian books in his father's library, over which he pored. These gave him an appreciation of beauty which underlies his work. He studied architecture for a short period but decided that designing clothes was what he wanted to do most.
Gigli did his first fashion designs in 1972 and set up his own label, manufactured by the Novara based company Zamasport, in 1983.
From his first collection in 1984, he brought a new look to Italian fashion, replacing its tailored, colourful traditions with a subtle colour range and fluid garments which would be widely influential. Often made of stretch fabrics, his clothes gently drape the body in a classical sense, but are thoroughly modern in treatment in the manner and angles at which they fasten or attach, or in their unexpected exaggerated shapes,
Gigli's womenswear designs are essentially romantic. His velvet and embroidered capes and boleros and his wrapped tops and skirts, were highly successful during the mid-80's. His palette is subdued but deeply vibrant and ultimately highly sophisticated.
In 1991, he separated from his business partners Donato Maiano and Carla Sozzani and restructured his business. His house is now a million dollar concern.
In 1991, England's Bath Costume Museum chose one of Romeo Gigli's creations as its 1991 dress of the year, it was a midnight blue velvet pantsuit with a blouse of streaky sunset strips and a gilt-embroidered cummerbund.
Throughout the 90's he has gone from success to success and is now one of the most creative and innovative Italian designers heading a world-wide fashion empire.
In 1993, Romeo Gigli introduced a new line, the G GIGLI (G for giovane) Line of clothes, including jackets and trousers, that is interchangeable for both women and men. It is for young people.
Spring/Summer 2003
Gigli presented his Spring/Summer 2003 collection in the Paris Fashion Week in October 2002 which was very well received. This is an outfit from that collection.
He has changed his usual soft look, for a hard loud brightly-coloured one, as everyone has this season.
Fall/Winter 2003
Except for one or two dresses like that shown on the right, Romeo Gigli did not go for his Renaissance colours and fabrics this season. His fall collection during Paris Fashion Week in March 2003 interpreted strong women from a mix of cultures.
Inspired by women of the time of Mongolian Genghis Khan, he sent kimono-shaped coats down the runway, mostly in black with some with gilded circles on the sleeves. He showed tops made of a papery silk that clung to the breasts and ribbons were laced to the knees.
Spring/Summer 2004
During Paris Fashion Week in October 2003, Romeo Gigli showed his collection for next Spring. A dress from this collection is shown on the left.
Romeo had fringes swinging from deep-sleeved tops and skirts that spread out in A-line tiers. He called them "dancing" skirts. He captured some of the themes of this season, including crochet which he used for lacy inserts. His Renaissance palette included bronze and gold. His bodices with cut-outs and sheer tops, even though they showed flesh, were not vulgar and seemed to belong to another era.
Fall/Winter 2005
Designer Anna Ciummo designed her first collection for the house of Romeo Gigli, in Milan, in February 2005. It was inspired by Paris in the thirties and was sentimental, introspective and sophisticated. Wild flowers were embellished all over the garments, heavily influenced by the art Deco artist Klimt. She used vibrant colours, coats were cut in thick ottoman ribbing of wool and warm jacquard shawls splendidly contrasted with prints and colour blends. Clokes and capes covered empire-line dresses and the collection seemed a reinterpretation of Paul Poiret's woman. She also included trendy separates for the girl of today, like the outfit shown on the right, with denim skirts and velvet jackets, and brightly coloured tights.
Romeo Gigli (W)