Caumont

Jean-Baptiste. French designer, active in Italy starting in the 1950s, and among the early important figures, along with Albini, Krizia, and Missoni, in that fortunate period for a prêt-à-porter in Milan. In Paris, where he went in order to study at the School of Fine Arts, he joined the world of fashion at a very young age as a designer for Balmain and, later, for important magazines such as Fémina and Vogue. After a consultant job with La Rinascente, he designed for Amica Manufacturing of Treviso. There, in 1965, he created his first Collection, which earned great approval for its sophisticated, luxurious, and characteristic style, evocative of the 1930s. There were casual suits, but very feminine, for the afternoon and the evening, in the style of 1938, plus short dresses in silk, and loose knitwear characterized by a precise attention to details and to accessories, resulting in a faultless harmony. Starting in 1970, his prêt-à-porter, produced by the Financial Textile Group, was successful especially in America.