Marchesa Olga di Grésy (1900-1994) was an Italian fashion designer specialising in knitwear, active between 1928 and 1984. Her company, Mirsa, was one of the most successful Italian knitwear companies of the immediately post-Second World War period, and she was the first woman to be made a Knight of the

Order of Merit for Labour The Order of Merit for Labour ( it, Ordine al Merito del Lavoro) is an Italian order of chivalry that was founded in 1923 by King Vittorio Emanuele III. It is awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and ...

Biography

Olga di Villarey was born in Turin in 1900, the daughter of Count Rey di Villarey. In 1922, she married Orazio Cisa Asinari di Grésy, Marquess of Grésy, Lord of Soglio and Casasco, Co-Lord of Castagneto Po and Cimena (1897-1958); with whom she had two children - Alessandro (Sadro), who inherited his father's titles in 1958, and Vladimira (Mirella). In 1926, Orazio lost the di Grésy fortune on the stock market, which meant that Olga had to work for a living. She started out by hand-knitting children's clothing, before setting up knitting machines in Milan in 1937. The name of her company, Mirsa, was constructed from the first few letters of her children's names, Mirella and Sadro. During the Second World War the Mirsa factory was relocated to

Galliate Galliate is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin, about northwest Milan and about northeast of Novara. Galliate borders the following municipalities: Cameri, Nova ...

. In 1948, the Mirsa workforce numbered 80 employees, which increased to 650 (and 350 machines) in 1970, and 653 in 1973. During the post-war boom in popularity of Italian knitwear among American buyers, Mirsa was one of the most desirable and widely recognised names. In 1953, Olga di Grésy was awarded a

Neiman Marcus Fashion Award The Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion was a yearly award created in 1938 by Carrie Marcus Neiman and Stanley Marcus. Unlike the Coty Award, it was not limited to American-based fashion designers. Recipients of t ...

. In 1968, Italy awarded Olga di Grésy the

Cavaliere del Lavoro The Order of Merit for Labour ( it, Ordine al Merito del Lavoro) is an Italian order of chivalry that was founded in 1923 by King Vittorio Emanuele III. It is awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and ...

- an honor which recognised her success in business, and which was rarely awarded to women. She was the first woman to be awarded this title. In 1970, garments produced by Mirsa and bearing Olga di Grésy's name were sold through

I. Magnin I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, ...

Abercrombie & Fitch Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer that focuses on casual wear. Its headquarters are in New Albany, Ohio. The company operates three other offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. As of Februar ...

, and other department stores. di Grésy was known for her widely varied knitwear, including not just obvious knits, but knitted fabrics that resembled

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

patchwork Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeating patterns built up with different fabric shapes (which can be different colors) ...

and were made from yarn spun and dyed by the company. di Grésy garments were versatile, intended to be wearable at any point in the day or evening with slight styling changes, and also to appeal to all ages. In 1970, di Grésy shared design responsibilities with her daughter-in-law, Louisa. In March 1977 Mirsa entered

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

, although it continued producing knitwear for others until 1984. Olga di Grésy died in

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

in 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grésy, Olga di 1900 births 1994 deaths Fashion designers from Milan Businesspeople from Turin People in knitting Italian fashion designers Italian women fashion designers