Nino Cerruti, ‘philosopher stylist’ who revolutionized fashion, dies

AFP

Renowned Italian designer Nino Cerruti has died at the age of 91, a source in the fashion industry told AFP on Saturday (15), confirming the news of the end of this “philosopher stylist” who revolutionized the way of dressing in the 20th century.

Cerruti died in a hospital in Vercelli, in the Piedmont region, where he had undergone hip surgery, according to the newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The stylist who dressed major Hollywood figures was characterized by a style that was both elegant and informal. In the 1970s, he introduced the concept of ‘casual chic’ and invented the deconstructed men’s jacket.

This seemingly careless refinement was, in his words, a matter of “style.” A word he preferred to “elegance”, which he considered “a terrible old taste”. “Having style is mixing culture and art”, he defined.

Born on September 25, 1930 in Biella, he abandoned his studies of philosophy and his dream of becoming a journalist at the age of 20 to take over a family textile factory after the death of his father.

In the 1960s, he hired Giorgio Armani, four years his junior, as a designer of menswear. This association, which left an unmistakable mark on the fashion world, lasted until 1975, when Armani decided to create his own brand.

“I’ve always dressed the same person: myself,” confided Cerruti, who was the first to wear the clothes that came out of his studios.

“A garment only exists when someone wears it. I would like you to continue living, to continue to be imbued with life, because that’s how I lived them,” he added, dubbed the “philosopher stylist.”

The “Signor Nino”, as his employees called him, dressed movie celebrities such as Richard Gere, Marcello Mastroianni, Robert Redford and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

FEMALE PANTS

His creations also changed the way women dressed, with the popularization of pants. A revolution that followed the airs of the student rebellion of 1968, putting men and women dressed alike on the catwalks.

“Pants gave women freedom,” said Cerruti, who has made pants for brands like Coco Chanel.

“At that time it was a courageous choice, because in some restaurants women wearing pants were prohibited,” he recalled.

END OF AN ERA

This patriarch of Italian fashion, with thick hair and an aquiline nose, was inseparable from his yellow sweater, which he wore at all his shows.

Gradually, Cerruti expanded its range of action and became a brand of perfumes, watches, footwear and jewelry.

But fierce competition in the luxury sector leaves less and less room for independent designers and this true father of fashion was forced in 2001 to sell his “Cerruti 1881” to Italian investors, who filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

“They have an industrial strategy, not a brand strategy!” declared Cerruti.

The brand then passed into the hands of the American investment fund MatlinPatterson and in 2011 it became part of the Chinese group Trinity.