Introduction
Gaetano Savini (1909–1987) was an Italian entrepreneur and co-founder of Brioni. In 1945 he opened the Roman menswear house with master tailor Nazareno Fonticoli, combining Savini’s commercial and promotional direction with Fonticoli’s tailoring expertise. The business began on Via Barberini and expanded from a Roman atelier to international clients, including United States trunk shows in the mid-1950s and a production base in Penne from 1959.
Brioni’s 1952 presentation in the Sala Bianca at Palazzo Pitti was the first men’s fashion show. Its founder-era clothing distinguished itself through fluid construction, vivid colour and fabrics partly drawn from the vocabulary of womenswear, offering a more expressive alternative to conservative British tailoring. Savini built and presented this model internationally with Fonticoli, directing the business, promotion and expansion that carried Brioni beyond its Roman atelier.
Disclaimer
Career history
1945
Gaetano Savini helped turn Brioni into a global emblem of tailored masculine prestige and social visibility.
You’re in
When the archive opens, you’ll be among the first to know.
That’s all.
