Romeo Gigli

Orphaned at the age of 18, he went travelling for the next decade, eventually finding his way to New York City in 1977, where he frequented the nightclub Studio 54 and met Bianca Jagger.

[2] By 1986, Gigli was gaining a strong international reputation and influenced other designers with what the Los Angeles Times described as "soft look, body-hugging dresses with draped bubble skirts".

[2] Shortly before his Paris debut in 1989, Vogue had declared that Gigli was the: “leading force in a new generation of designers proclaiming a different fashion sensibility".

[1] His understated and romantic designs, featuring shawl collars, dropped shoulders and narrow fitted trousers or tulip-shaped skirts worn with flat shoes were seen as the antithesis of the 1980s power dressing trend and some predicted he would become the Armani of the 1990s.

[2] He continued to collaborate with other designers and retail brands, including Barneys New York, Callaghan, Donghia and Louis Vuitton, also teaching fashion in Milan.