Elio Fiorucci

Elio Fiorucci (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛːljo fjoˈruttʃi]; 10 June 1935 – 19 July 2015) was an Italian fashion designer and the founder of the Fiorucci fashion label.

Beginning in retailing at the age of 14, he later created a fashion brand that had worldwide success during the 1970s and 1980s, including becoming a key label of the disco-scene. The retail environments he created were destinations, rather than simply places to buy clothes; his New York store was known by some as the daytime Studio 54 and gave space to artists and creatives – including Andy Warhol.

Fiorucci is credited with designing and popularising stretch jeans, and for transforming the fashion scene. Giorgio Armani described him as a revolutionary, adding: "He was always ready to take some risks to really understand his time".

Early life and career

Elio Fiorucci was born in Milan and was one of six children, two of them boys. The family escaped to the countryside during the war, returning afterwards to continue running the family shoe shop and manufacturing business.

Fiorucci started working in his father's shop when he was 14, becoming a full-time worker there at 17. In 1962, Fiorucci created his first successful design – a brightly coloured waterproof overshoe. The design was featured in the Italian magazine Amica and earned him enough money to go travelling. His travels included a visit to London, then a hotbed of young fashion, and he was said to have been surprised and also influenced by the dynamic retailing approaches found in Carnaby Street and Kensington Market. Later he would say: "That creative chaos represented a new deal, free from the pressures of formal dressing and elegance".