Krizia
Mariuccia Mandelli, known professionally as Krizia, (31 January 1925 – 6 December 2015) was an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur. Mandelli established her ready-to-wear fashion house, Krizia, in 1954 by bringing suitcases of samples to shops in Milan out of her Fiat 500. The Guardian has called her the "godmother of Italian fashion." According to the New York Times, Mandelli was one of the first female fashion designers to create a popular line of men's wear.
Also recorded as Mariucca Mandelli · Mariuccia Mandelli · María Mandeli · Maria Mandeli
Krizia
Manuelarosi · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1925.
- Died
- 2015.
- Nationality
- Italy and Kingdom of Italy.
- Occupation
- entrepreneur, fashion designer and businessperson.
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getty · 500032038 · gnd · 1028334575 · wikidata · Q436146 · wikipedia · Mariuccia Mandelli
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Career
Mandelli was born in Bergamo on January 31, 1925. She had a talent as a seamstress and an interest in fashion, but studied to be a teacher based on her mother's advice. Mandelli worked as a teacher for several years until her friend, Flora Dolci, offered use of a flat in Rome for six months rent-free. She purchased an old sewing machine in the early 1950s and founded her label, Krizia, in 1954 by selling clothes from her Fiat 500. In 1964, she unveiled her first black-and-white collection at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, which earned a Critica della Moda award. The fashion house grew rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s. Under Mandelli, Krizia released a version of shorts cut "very short" in 1971, now seen as an early form of hot pants. Krizia grew into a $500 million business at its height during the 1990s. By the end of the 1980s, she bought land in Punta Volpe, Costa Smeralda, and hired the architect Gianni Gamondi to build a luxurious seafront loggia. The property was listed on sale by Sotheby's in 2022. Mariuccia Mandelli died at her home in Milan on 6 December 2015, at the age of 90.
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Mariuccia Mandelli, revision 1343251135 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Langer, Emily. Mariuccia Mandelli, innovative Italian fashion designer, dies at 90. The Washington Post. 2015-12-09. 0190-8286.
- 2.Mariuccia Mandelli obituary. The Guardian. 2015-12-13.
- 3.Fox, Margalit. Mariuccia Mandelli, Italian Fashion Designer, Dies at 90. New York Times. 2015-12-07.
- 4.Zagaria, Di Elisa. La spettacolare villa di Krizia in vendita in Costa Smeralda. ELLE Decor. 2022-05-09.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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