Burani

Mariella (1943). Italian designer. Born in Cavriago, in the province of Reggio Emilia. She had a degree as an elementary school teacher and her dream was to teach. In the early 1960s she married Walter Burani. As she told Gian Luigi Paracchini of Corriere della Sera: “The car had broke down. My father and I had been waiting for hours. One person stopped: it was Walter.” Together they give birth to Selene, the first line of a company that in 1999 had a turnover of 260 billion liras. After the birth of her second son, in 1966, her career as a designer finally took off. First she designed clothes for young girls, and then, in 1975, the company’s production expanded to include women’s prêt-à-porter. The brands included one that she named after herself, plus others like Amuleti, Selene, and Più Donna. In 1987 the designer made her début at Milano Collezioni. Since that time the Buranis have created a small empire of luxury.