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Emanuel (Maffeolit) Ungaro (13 February 1933 in Aix-en-Provence) is a French fashion designer.

[edit] 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 six 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.

[edit] 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^{[dubious – discuss]}.

After the sale, the label was languished with a revolving door of designers.^[1] 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.^[1] The introduction of Lohan, which was meant to give the label publicity, was received with shock and dismay in Paris Fashion Week 2009.^[1]

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.^[1]

[edit] 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 Her was developed by perfumers Jean Marc Chaillan and Loc Dong, and the "fresh, woody floral" includes notes of bergamot blossom, freesia, pepper blossom, acacia aura, lotus flower, osmanthus, iris, sandalwood and musk.
• 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.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ungaro Corporate Site
• "Interactive timeline of couture houses and couturier biographies". Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1486_couture/explore.php.