Aponte

Laura (1906-1990). Italian knitwear designer. She came from a noted Roman family, her father a lawyer and her mother, Pinella Tittoni, a talented mandolin player. She married very young to a nobleman from the Veneto, had the marriage annulled in the mid 1930s, and then happily married the journalist Salvatore Aponte, who had been the Moscow correspondent for Corriere della Sera during Russian Revolution. They lived together in Paris and in Libya, and returned to Italy at the beginning of the war. In 1945, Laura began her activity in the field of fashion, choosing knitwear. Her début was quite adventurous: she put together a group of sweaters made with recycled wool and knitted on a jacquard loom, with patterns inspired by the designs of contemporary artists in Rome. Her first client and supporter was the baroness Gaby di Robilant. She introduced Laura to Elsa Schiaparelli, who wanted Laura’s designs for her boutique in Place VendÂme in Paris. It became a major triumph. In America, Harper’s Bazaar put her on its cover. Her atelier in Rome was on via Gesù e Maria. In 1959 she was invited to Florence for the Sala Bianca shows. In 1970 she retired to Capri, leaving the company in the hands of her daughter Nora who, as a designer, continued to work under the brand Laura Aponte Tricots until 1983.”