Emanuel Ungaro, the last of the couturiers, died in Paris on December 22 at the age of 86. Ill for some time, Ungaro left surrounded by his closest loved ones: his daughter Cosima and his wife Laura Bernabei.
The designer, originally from Francavilla Fontana (Puglia), was born in 1933 in France, where his father had fled to escape the atrocities of fascism. His father had taught him the trade of tailoring. A pupil of Cristobal Balenciaga, Ungaro created his own handles in 1965 and three years later his first fashion show was held.
In the eighties he became one of the five great names of Parisian high fashion, dressing some of the most important female icons of all time, from Anouk Aimèe to Catherine Deneuve, passing through Lauren Bacall and Caroline of Monaco.
In 1996 his company was bought by the Italian group Ferragamo and Ungaro retired from managing the company.
He definitively left the fashion world in 2004, after more than 35 years of collections. In an interview with the weekly Paris Match in which she revealed her desire to leave haute couture, the designer Ungaro joked that she didn't want "statues and museums" dedicated to him.
”I have dedicated more than 35 years of my life to Haute Couture. I loved her with a devouring passion. - she said - Along with the universe it represents: workshops, artisans, embroiderers, all holders of a savoir faire that is in danger of dying. If there is a drama it is that of these people who lose their art and their jobs. Some seamstresses were with me from the beginning. But we need to cut the threads, undo this family that was formed in harmony”.
