Battilocchi

High fashion Italian tailor’s shop. It was established in the 1920s in Rome, at via Sistina 67, by Aurora Battilocchi. Among her clientele were members of the House of Savoy, of the aristocracy, and of the high bourgeoisie. Many of her clothes were purchased in Paris, while a small part were manufactured to Italian designs. In the strict and severe Battilocchi “bottega,” Maria Antonelli and the Fontana sisters developed their skills, learning the refined use of detail and an ability to cut fabric, with an almost fanatic play at putting the finishing touch on something. “It was like living at court,” remembers Micol Fontana, “you didn’t just learn the job, but also the ways in which to present a finished dress.”