On the evening of February 12 1951 a handful of respected buyers and fashion editors from America gathered in Florence at Villa Torrigiani, the palatial home of Giovanni Battista Giorgini. In the elegant white drawing room he and his wife, Nella, and their daughter, Matilde – both dressed in the designs of the young Roman couturier Roberto Capucci – played host, with their guests keen to see the latest fashions by a small group of Italian designers and boutique owners. They included the local Florentine designer Emilio Pucci, who had a boutique in Canzone del Mare on the island of Capri selling beachwear, as well as the already well-established couturier Simonetta Visconti and the wonderfully theatrical Emilio Schuberth, both based in Rome. That first show was
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