Micol Fontana (8 November 1913 – 12 June 2015) was an Italian stylist and entrepreneur, co-founder of the

Sorelle Fontana Sorelle Fontana (literally "Fontana Sisters", also known as "Sorelle Fontana, Alta Moda SRL") is an Italian fashion house, specializing in production of high-fashion couture. It was founded in Rome in 1943 by three sisters and Italian designers: ...

fashion house.

Biography

Born in

Traversetolo Traversetolo (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about south of Parma. Traversetolo borders the following municipalities: Canossa, Lesig ...

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, Micol Fontana and her sisters Zoe and Giovanna moved to Rome in 1936 to launch a fashion career. They worked small jobs in the industry and finally opened their own shop, Casa di moda sorelle Fontana, in 1943. In 1953 - along with her sisters and other famous fashion designers including Alberto Fabiani,

Vincenzo Ferdinandi Vincenzo Ferdinandi (29 November 1920 - 22 April 1990) was an Italian designer among the founders of Italian haute couture. Biography Born in the United States, he moved to Italy in the early 1950s to open an atelier in Rome in the fashionabl ...

Emilio Schuberth Emilio Federico Schuberth (1904–1972) was an Italian fashion designer, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Schuberth was called the "tailor of the stars", and his work was loved by many international celebrities like Princess Soraya of Iran, Rita ...

Jole Veneziani Jolanda Anna Maria Veneziani (11 July 1901 – 10 January 1989) was an Italian fashion designer. Biography Born in Taranto in 1901, Jole Veneziani moved to Milan with her family when she was still a child. She grew up in an artistic household ...

, Giovannelli-Sciarra, Mingolini-Guggenheim, Eleanora Garnett and Simonetta - she founded the S.I.A.M. - Italian High Fashion Syndicate. In 1957, the sisters designed

Linda Christian Linda Christian (born Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer; November 13, 1923 – July 22, 2011) was a Mexican film actress, who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara ...

's wedding dress for her marriage to

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include '' Jesse James'', ...

. Following the death of her sisters, and after selling the company and the brand to an Italian financial group in 1992, Micol created the Micol Fontana Foundation in 1994 with the purpose of finding and promoting new fashion talents.

Popular Culture

As the designer of

Margaret Truman Mary Margaret Truman Daniel (February 17, 1924 – January 29, 2008) was an American classical soprano, actress, journalist, radio and television personality, writer, and New York socialite. She was the only child of President Harry S. Truman a ...

's (daughter of U.S. President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

) wedding gown, Micol Fontana was invited to appear as a mystery guest on the Apr 15, 1956 episode of

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

. The Truman wedding occurred a few days later on April 21, 1956. In ''

La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life"Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi) by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcell ...

'', the tightly moulded priest’s

cassock The cassock or soutane is a Christian clerical clothing coat used by the clergy and male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in certain Protestant denomi ...

wore by

Anita Ekberg Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg (; 29 September 193111 January 2015) was a Swedish actress active in American and European films, known for her beauty and stunning figure. She became prominent in her iconic role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini ...

in St Peter’s basilica was designed by Micol Fontana. A two-parts television miniseries based on the story of her fashion house, ''

Atelier Fontana - Le sorelle della moda ''Atelier Fontana - Le sorelle della moda'' (Atelier Fontana - "The sisters of fashion") is an Italian television miniseries directed by Riccardo Milani and produced by Rai Fiction and Lux Vide, and broadcast premiered on Rai 1 in two evenings, on ...

'', was broadcast on

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...

in 2011, with Micol Fontana making a brief cameo as herself.

References

External links

Fondazione Micol Fontana website
1913 births 2015 deaths Italian centenarians People from the Province of Parma Fashion designers from Rome Women centenarians {{italy-bio-stub

Biography

Popular Culture

See also

References

External links