The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2022 - Issue 32

bitefashion I n 1932 Paris, Robert Ricci gifted his Italian-born mother with a fantastic present: a business and the opportunity to show the world her exceptional talents as a designer. It marked the beginning of Nina Ric- ci Maison, which saw Nina create the garments and Robert manage the business and finances. The designer was born Maria Nielli in Turin, Italy, in 1883 but was given the nickname Nina. Her father was a shoemaker; when he passed, she moved to Paris with her mother and sister. At age 14, Nina got a job as a seamstress. While riding a bus a few years later, she met her husband, Luigi Ricci, a compos- er and son of a Florentine jeweller. She gave birth to Robert at age 23 and four years later, a widow at 27, singlehanded- ly raising her son. In 1908, she joined the House of Raffin, a small dressmaking and couture establishment she worked for the next 24 years. She had an entirely autonomous department with workshops, sewists and clientele. Whilst her creations were not the Parisienne style the upper middle-class women preferred, Nina sold her patterns to re- gional dressmakers and sewists and her creations directly. She became known as the ‘White Lady’ because she wore a white dress with white strands of pearls and her curly hair was white. After Monsieur Raffin passed, the firm wound up, leaving Nina comfortably off and ready for a well-deserved retirement. However, her son, who trained in advertising and had a good business head, wanted to reactivate the ambition that made his mother successful. From the beginning, Nina urged women to become elevated by beauty and independence and trust their feminine pow- ers. The designer wanted women to flourish and fulfil their deepest desires and aimed to achieve that by creating artistic momentum in freedom. She designed her gowns directly on mannequins, ensuring perfect forms upon completion. Her legacy and love for fashion made her renowned for refined, romantic, feminine designs that continued after her death. At the fashion house, Nina dressed many of France’s first la- dies of theatre and film and was respected for maintaining the highest quality of design, fabric and craftsmanship. She was one of the first designers in Paris to offer two intermedi- ary collections a year aimed at young women. She provided clothes that only required two fittings, appreciably cheaper than her main range. In 1946, Nina Ricci launched its first fragrance, Coeur-Joie (Heart-Joy) in a crystal Lalique bottle, followed by L’Air du Temps (The Air of Time) with its icon- ic entwined doves on the stopper two years later, the brand’s most popular fragrance. Nina retired in 1954, and her young assistant Jules-François Crahay succeeded her. The Belgian designer’s 1959 collection ‘Crocus, which had a suit of the same name, was critically ac- claimed, finally giving the fashion house the international rec- ognition Robert Ricci had longed for. It attracted the attention of John Fairchild, head of Women’s Wear Daily , to go to a Ricci fashion show for the first time in many years following Paris fashion. “Francois had a hit on his hands, and that suit ‘Cro- cus’ was to be copied everywhere,” he praised. The fashion house created its Mademoiselle Ricci line of demi-couture pieces, which presaged the arrival of the brand’s ready-to-wear. In 1963, Crahay left to join Lanvin and was re- placed by Gérard Pipart, who previously worked for Balmain, Fath and Patou. He had a vast experience in all aspects of fash- ion, including journalism and ready-to-wear. In his over 30 years at the brand’s helm, he outlived Nina Ricci, who died in 1970 and Robert, who passed in 1988. Ten years after Robert’s death, Massimo Giussani’s fami- ly purchased the fashion house with Massimo positioned as designer and Nathalie Gervais as chief designer for several years. Nathalie presented her last collection in Fall 2001. The following year, American designer James Agular became chief designer and curated collections for two seasons. In 2003, Lars Nilsson took over the house of Ricci, who received rave reviews from critics. He injected a dose of excitement, youth and energy into the dormant fashion and accessories lines. After making a sudden redesign in early 2006, he announced in September that Brussels-born designer Olivier Theyskens of Rochas would take over as head of the label. Three years lat- er, Theyskens was replaced by Peter Copping, who had worked for Louis Vuitton. After Copping left in 2015, Guillaume Hen- ry took the role of creative director. In August 2018, menswear designers Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh became the creative directors. This September, the duo was replaced by London-based designer Harris Reed, best known for his gen- der-fluid designs, working with design director Nana Baehr. Before revealing its Autumn-Winter collection, the Nina Ric- ci fashion house acknowledged its historical savoir-faire and revisited iconic fundamentals of the brand: sleek tailoring, co- coon dresses, short skirts and last but not least wide pants. The creative directors added historical capes and restyled in utility camouflage flower patterns to add more to the Fall season. The brand presented a beautiful assortment of mixes and matches regarding colours and textures, from fluffy mohair and airy tulle to chevron statuary wools and reflecting nylons. From powdery pink, baby blue and candy apple rainbow col- ours to earthy khaki and charcoal black and deep shades of icy white. The accessories consisted of metallic thigh-high boots, Plexi techno cloche hats and double-strap quilted bags. Instead of the pretty, well-mannered florals that marked the brand’s heyday, it presented sprayed floral camouflage print shown on one slip dress. Elsewhere, the house’s tailoring tra- dition was applied to tech, on-point materials, like chocolate quilted nylon. A glossy apple-red cloche of a cape contrasted with traditional houndstooth or chevron wools and soft, thick textured knits. On a lighter note, playful little mohair argyle sweaters in eye-popping colours were completed with match- ing panties. A little black dress had tulle over weave on the bodice that fanned out so high it made wearing it on a night out quite challenging. www.ninaricci.com