Montorsi

Italian tailors. Giovanni Montorsi founded the atelier in Rome in 1920. He was 37 at the time and had trained as a cutter at Tanfani and Bertarelli, a company making ecclesiastical garments. His first atelier, in Piazza della Pietra, produced men’s garments. For 12 years, Montorsi was the trusted tailor of Umberto of Savoy. His wife encouraged him to branch out into women’s clothing. In 1929, he bought a building at Via Condotti 65 and rented out the windows to Salvatore Ferragamo. The rest of it he filled with assistants and cutters. During the Fascist period, the atelier attracted the wives and lovers of members of the regime. The famous wedding dress of Edda Mussolini, wife of Galeazzo Ciano, was described in the papers: “It was a creation made of satin, with a garland of pearls and orange blossom on her head and long, white leather gloves.” The atelier was organized like a French fashion house, with a series of workshops with a very high level of craftsmanship, producing clothes, furs, sporting outfits, and women’s underwear. There were more than 100 members of staff, including workers, premières, models, and porters. The salon included a tea room, a milliner’s room, and a corner set aside for gloves and shawls. After the death of the owner, the business continued under Montorsi’s two daughters, Adriana and Donatella. In 1957, the building was sold and the atelier moved to Via Sistina. It closed at the end of the 1970s.