Irene Galitzine

Princess Irene Galitzine was a Russian-Georgian-born fashion designer whose most renowned creation was the "palazzo pyjama."

1916 Irene Galitzine was born in Tiblisi, the capital of Georgia. Her mother was a Russian princess and her father was an officer in the Tsar's Guard.

When the October Revolution broke out the Galitzine family decided to leave Russia and after a short stop in Constantinople, subsequently arrived in Rome. Irene adopted the city as her new home and took up residence there once she had become successful. As she had come to Italy when she was just one year old, Irene grew up to be perfectly bilingual.

She also obteined a diploma in English in Cambridge, and in French at the Sorbonne and also learnt Portuguese.Furthermore she matriculated in political science University and also decided to take an art and design course. Before joining the fashion world, Irene Galitzine worked for a while translating English-language film dialogues.

She then joined the famous Rome-based fashion house belonging to the Fontana Sisters in 1943, where her role varied from dealing with public relations, to creating patterns and work as a model.

In 1946 she opened her own salon and presented her first collection.

in 1949 Irene married Silvio Medici de Menezes, a young exponent of the Portuguese aristocracy.

Success came when the American Fashion Press invited her to present her collection in Boston in 1959 and she also won an important award in the United States, the "Filene Talent Award" as top designer of the year.

The height of her fame came in 1960 when she launched the "Pijama Palazzo". As the name suggests, this silk item was similar to pyjamas, characterised by very wide trouser legs, and the neologism was propagated by Diana Vreeland in an article published on vogue magazine. Currently, some of her original "palazzo pyjama" collection still exist in important museums around the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the St. Petersburg Museum in Russia.

In 1962 she was named Designer of the Year by the Italian fashion press and in 1965 she won the British Sunday Times International Fashion Award.

She subsequently transferred her atelier to 56, Via Gregoriana in Rome in 1983.

In May 1988, Irene Galitzine returned to Russia. On the stage of the Rossja Theatre in Moscow, the designer presented six fashion shows with eighty patterns. In her country of origin, she was also invited to university

In 1990, the Galitzine label was purchased by the Xines Company. In September 1996, Galitizine opened her first boutique in Moscow, and in November of the same year she published her biography entitled “From Russia to Russia”.

On October 20, 2006, Irene Galitzine died at her home in Rome, aged 90.

where she held several seminars for aspiring designers and art students.