Elio Fiorucci

Elio Fiorucci was born in Milan, Italy in 1935. He inherited a shoe store from his father in 1962. In the mid-60's, he began traveling to London to bring mini-skirts and other fashionable items for sale in his shop in Milan. In 1967, he opened a larger store, selling clothes from London as well as those he designed himself, and he became world famous.

In 1970 Elio selected the two-angel Logo which has become so well-known as the sign of Fiorucci.

Fiorucci stores opened throughout the world, cleverly designed so that merchandising, packaging and display all reflected the company's image. Garments were fresh, new and amusing, like plastic rainboots in bright colours, T-shirts, platform shoes, fluorescent socks and scarves. Fiorucci captured the spirit of the moment for a mainly young market, recycling old ideas in new ways.

His tightly cut, streamlined jeans of the 70's named Buffalo 70 were also in great demand. Fiorucci is credited with the concept of designer denim.

In 1975 he opened his first New York store. In 1977 at the opening of the famous nightclube Studio 54, Elio made the arrangements with artist Andy Warhol.

Fiorucci refuses to design for women above size 10, claiming his clothes are only suitable for small women.

In 1984 when the Graffiti fad hit, everyone worked overtime to transform his Milan store.

In 1987 Fiorucci produced the Junior Gaultier line designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier, and in 1989 they went back to their roots with a deal with Vivienne Westwood, queen of the London street scene.

In the 90's, he has gone back to the 50's themes. One of his favourite words is "recycle".

Today jeans are the centerpiece of the Fiorucci empire. They come in all colours, fushcia, peach and jade. He emphasizes the details of garments, multi-coloured buttons running down the front of a man's shirt, glimmer of metallic threads darting off the surface of a plaid cotton. His motto is "fun and fashion".

In 1999 he hosted MTV at his offices who filmed him live as the king of the T-shirt. He is going into the 21st century, in just as lively a manner as he was in the 1960's.

In March 2003, Elio Fiorucci announced that after 36 years, he is closing the doors to his historic shop in Corso Vittorio Emmanuele, Milan. When Fiorucci hit the scene nearly 40 years ago, he blew Italy - and the rest of the world - away with a larger-than-life attitude. He brought in the new and unexpected, pre-dating the surge of today's "lifestyle" stores. Fiorucci mixed clothing with beauty products vintage items, music and home furnishings. He even used his retail space for artistic performances. Elio says the reason he is closing is because he has "fallen out of love" with fashion at the age of nearly 70.

In the early 2000’s, Elio Fiorucci creates the Love Therapy brand, offering new garments, new jeans, new T-shirts, dresses and accessories designed to bring happiness and optimism. Coloured dwarfs are the symbol of Love Therapy.

In 2004, Elio Fiorucci receives the “Piazza Mercati” award from the Milan Chamber of Commerce for his career as a fashion designer, talent scout, entrepreneur and communicator.

Two years later, Ekio Fiorucci creates the Baby Angel line for Brand Zero, a collection of glamorous, yet affordable, clothes. In the same year, he receives the “Ambrogino d’Oro” award for his leading role in Italian fashion and for having revolutionized the style of young generations, combining trends from all around the globe.

The following year, in 2008, Elio Fiorucci signs a sole licence agreement to produce and distribute the woman/girl Love Therapy brand via Brand Zero, a company controlled by Gruppo Coin S.p.A. In the same year, the Love Therapy brand is used uder licence by other brands, leaders with different product lines, including Seven for school and stationery items, Bassetti, Siport, Rainbow.