The passing of the Italian designer Nino Cerruti was the first sad news for the fashion world in 2022. What are the most prominent moments in the life of this designer, who carried the title of “fashion philosopher”, and was known as one of the main figures who launched the concept of ready-to-wear men’s fashion in the twentieth century?
Cerruti died at the age of 91 in a hospital in northwestern Italy, where he was admitted for hip surgery. He will be remembered by the fashion world as the first to launch the concept of “casual chic” in men’s fashion and create the men’s asymmetric blazer in 1970. He is also known for his famous saying in the field: “I want men more freedom in their style, more elegance in their freedom.” . He was always keen to be the first to wear his designs, many of which he kept in a textile factory his grandfather had established in 1881.
Designer Nino Cerruti during the opening of his own boutique in Nice, France, in 1985
From the archives of Dar Cerruti
From the archives of Dar Cerruti
Milestones in his career
Nino Cerruti dreamed of being a journalist and therefore began his studies in philosophy. But he had to leave it after his father’s death when he was twenty years old to devote himself to working in the textile factory owned by his family. In the 1960s, Nino met Giorgio Armani and hired him in his atelier as a men’s fashion designer. They formed a successful duo that left deep marks in the fashion world before they separated and Armani dedicated himself to launching his own fashion house in 1975.
Lamenting Cerruti, Carlo Capasa, President of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, said: “He was a great innovator, a visionary figure who pioneered many concepts that have become reality in today’s fashion.” As for the designer Giorgio Armani, he told an Italian newspaper: “Nino had a keen eye, a real curiosity, and a boldness to take action.”
From the archives of Cerruti
From the Cerruti men’s collection show in 1977
From the Cerruti Fall 1984 Ready-to-Wear collection
Cerruti opened his first store in Paris in 1967, launching his luxury brand on the path to global fame, and he always said: “Clothes become there the moment I put them on, and I want my clothes to stay vibrant.”
Fashion Philosopher
During the 1968 revolution in France, Nino Cerruti revolutionized the field of fashion when models and models wore the same designs. Then, in 1970, he launched his first women’s collection bearing his signature, followed by collections of perfumes, watches, shoes, and jewelry.
Over the years, Cerruti earned the nickname “the philosopher of fashion” and became more and more famous among the international stars who flocked to wear his clothes, including: Richard Gere, Robert Redford, and Jean Paul Gaultier. During the 1970s, his couture house became the official designer of the Ferrari Formula 1 team.
From the Cerruti Women’s Spring 1977 collection
From the Cerruti menswear collection of 1975
From the Cerruti Women’s Spring 1979 collection
As the days passed, Cerruti struggled to keep pace with the fierce global competition in the luxury fashion industry. This forced him to sell the Cerruti1881 brand to Italian investors in 2001, before it moved to an American investment fund, and then to China’s Trinity Group. After the sale, Cerruti retired, ending a illustrious career in the world of fashion and withdrew to live in his native Bella, Italy.