Adrienne Vittadini

the designer

Adrienne Vittadini was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1945. When she was 12, her family fled Budapest during the 1956 Hungarian revolution. She studied at the Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA and won a scholarship to apprentice with Louis Feraud in Paris, in 1965. After completing this, she moved to New York. In 1979, she started what would become a multi-million dollar fashion business as a hobby.

Adrienne Vittadini started with an innovative line of knitwear, conceived with an artist's eye for colour and line, and a woman's feel for ease and movement. She has continued to add pieces to the puzzle of dressing and now offers shoes, handbags, swimwear and other garments.

The Adrienne Vittadini label can be found in the closets of modern, active women the world over. A designer with an innate understanding of the needs and desires of today's women.

Vittadini built her empire by focusing on the way that women truly want to dress. She earned the trust and the business of millions of women in countries around the globe.

In 1996, Vittadini sold her company but remained as Chairwoman. However she did not get on well with the new management and in 1998 she and her husband Gianluigi resigned and the label now continues under new management. Further her company was purchased by Retail Brand Alliance in 2001.

She now lives seasonally in Sarasota, Florida, where the Coty-award winning fashion designer went into the home fashion and house design business.