Strada

Nanni (1941). Italian designer known since the 1960s for her research into the modularity of clothing. Born in Milan, she studied fashion design, and created her first collection for Cadette in 1967, then accessories for Fiorucci, bathing costumes for La Perla, jerseys for Missoni, and Avon Celli in 1969, and for Sportmax in 1970. In 1974 she had the brainwave of producing knitwear without any sewing, using hosiery machines. When this technique was applied to clothing, she won the coveted design award, the Compasso d’oro, in 1979 for a seamless dress. At the same time, she produces her first mountain, cold-weather, puffer jacket for Dolomite and the Sottosport collection for Zegna. In the 1980s, she designed mainly for the Far East and China. From 1984, her production expanded and she opened a series of shops in Portugal and in Japan. In 1985 she opened the Nanni Strada Design Studio in Milan where she launched her famous torchon, the pleated travel dress that was reinterpreted a few years later by Issey Miyake. In 1994, she produced Il manto e la pelle, a film presented at the Triennale di Milano and, in 1998, she published her autobiography Moda Design, which also provides the reader with an interesting insight into the close rapport between design and fashion as seen from an insider’s point of view.
&Quad;2003, April. The Milan Triennale devoted the exhibition Abitare l’abito to Nanni Strada’s design work; it was curated by Raimonda Riccini and designed by Italo Lupi.