Emanuel (Maffeolit) Ungaro (
13 February,
1933 in
Aix-en-Provence) is a
French fashion designer.
Life
Born to
Italian parents who had fled to France from
Francavilla Fontana of
Brindisi province because of the
fascist Italian government. As a young boy, Emanuel Ungaro took to sewing like his father, Cosimo.
At the age of 22, he moved to
Paris and three years later, he began designing for the House of
Cristobal Balenciaga for three years before quitting to work for
Courrèges. Four years later, in 1965 with the assistance of Swiss artist Sonja Knapp and Elena Bruna Fassio, Emanuel Ungaro opened his own fashion house in Paris.
In 1988, at the age of 55, he married Laura Bernabei.
He has a daughter, Cosima Ungaro.
The House of Emanuel Ungaro
In 1968, he created his first
Prêt-à-Porter collection,
Parallèle and opened a store at 2 avenue Montaigne in Paris. During the next 30 years, the Emanuel Ungaro House expanded to include stores and licensing agreements worldwide.
Ungaro launched his first menswear collection, Ungaro Uomo, in 1973, and his first
perfume,
Diva, 10 years later in 1983. Later followed the perfumes
Senso (1987),
Ungaro (1991) and
Emanuel Ungaro For Men (1991).
In 1996, he formed a partnership with
Salvatore Ferragamo. In 1997, Emanuel Ungaro, Salvatore Ferragamo and
Bulgari created a new company: Emanuel Ungaro Parfums. The new perfumes to follow was
Fleur de Diva (1997),
Desnuda (2001) and
Apparition (2004).
In 2004, Emanuel Ungaro retired and in 2005 the brand was sold to internet
entrepreneur Asim Abdullah. At the time, the total wholesale revenue of products sold under the Ungaro label through licensing deals was approximately
€ 70 million .
After the sale, the label was languished with a revolving door of designers.
[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/fashion/shows/05lohan.html?_r=1&hp] The last of which,
Esteban Cortazar, who was appointed in 2007, was fired two years later after his refusal to work with actress
Lindsay Lohan. Subsequently, Lohan was appointed Artistic Director, working with new head designer
Estrella Archs, who was hired hastily to replace Cortazar.
The introduction of Lohan, which was meant to give the label publicity, was received with shock and dismay in
Paris Fashion Week 2009.
In 2009, the label had sales of about $200 million from fragrance and less-expensive lines sold in Asia, but the runway collection has been losing money for years.
Fragrance
In 2008,
Avon and Emanuel Ungaro collaborated to launch a new duo of fragrances,
U by Ungaro for Her and
U by Ungaro for Him. The scents were fronted by actress
Reese Witherspoon.
- Avon U by Ungaro For Him was developed by Yves Cassar and Pascal Gaurin, and the "woody aromatic watery blend" features green mandarin leaf, ruby red grapefruit, pomegranate, immortelle, cardamom, cedar leaf, vetiver, patchouli, sandalwood, tonka bean and Peru balsam.
