A group of friends remembers the Italian fashion designer Krizia with an intellectual dinner at the famous Spazio Krizia in Manin street, Milano.

Passed away last December, Mariuccia Mandelli – she took the name Krizia after Plato’s dialogue on Vanity – was one of the greatest Italian designers, who achieved many successes during her long career in fashion. Her debut took place in 1957 at the SAMIA fair in Turin where she showed an ante-litteram minimalist style that impressed public, buyers and press. During the Sixties she presented her creations at Sala Bianca at Palazzo Pitti and was the first woman to get the prize “Critica della Moda” in 1964 – a prize only assigned before to Emilio Pucci – but was among the first designers to choose Milan as the new fashion scene in the early Seventies. In 1982 she was invited by the Cambridge’s MIT to show her creations at the exhibition “Intimate Architecture: Contemporary Clothing Design” along with Gianfranco Ferré and Issey Miyake, among others.

An ensemble designed by Krizia, exhibited in “La Sala Bianca: La Nascita della Moda Italia”, at Pitti Uomo 42, 1992. Collection Pitti Immagine, all rights reserved.

In 1984 she opened her headquarters, in the totally renovated Palazzo Melzi d’Eril in Milan that comprehended Spazio Krizia, a place designed to host cultural activities, such as shows, exhibitions, concerts. A place, to “do fashion speaking about other things”. For more than 20 years, Spazio Krizia has been the one of epicentre of Milanese culture: the mood and important legacy of this place and of the group of intellectuals that gathered around Krizia, is re-invoked in the video “A Cena da Krizia” directed by Tomaso Pessina.

Knitted jumper with animal motif, designed by Krizia, ca. 1985, Italy. © Krizia. Collection Victoria and Albert Museum, CC-BY-NC.

The same Spazio Krizia is a witness of a renewed multidisciplinary approach: the dinner, brings back together old and new protagonist of the Milanese cultural and fashion scene. Beppe Modenese, Mariuccia Casadio, Gillo Dorfles together with Angelo Flaccavento, Antonio Mancinelli, Carlo Capasa share their memories on the Italian designer, retracing the brand’s DNA, hosted by Zhu ChongYun, the Chinese fashion designer and entrepreneur who acquired the brand Krizia.

The video “A Cena da Krizia” can be watched on Youtube.To have a look at Krizia creations, browse Europeana Fashion portal!