Nino Cerruti: from Giorgio Armani's launch to Sharon Stone's famous leg crossing in 'Basic Instinct'

Descendant of a family from northern Italy dedicated to textiles, Nino Cerruti (1930-2022) lived dedicated to fashion. Considered one of the great protagonists of the industry of the 20th century, among his main professional achievements are having adapted the rigidity of the suit to the comfort needs of everyday life and the presentation in society of the designer Giorgio Armani.

Born in Biella (Piedmont, Italy) the stylist, designer and businessman has died at the age of 91, due to complications arising from a hip operation, according to Italian media reports, after a statement issued by the company from Cerruti to its employees. His disappearance leaves an orphan in an industry that once experienced years of change and authentic revolution thanks to his innovative ideas.

The staging of him came soon. Due to the death of his father, he inherited the family business at a very young age. In 1950, when he was only 20 years old, he took charge of a business dedicated to textile production while dedicating his time and fortune to the research and development of materials to make the (family) business a benchmark in the sector. . His entrepreneurial curiosity took him to the top and his creative genius catapulted him as one of the most important figures in fashion history.

In less than 10 years he created the firm with his homonymous name and positioned Cerruti on the catwalks of the main fashion capitals. A clothing line, first, and the opening of his first boutique, later, were the two great feats of the Italian businessman to land in Milan, an international pilgrimage destination in terms of style.

Master of masters

Turned into a magnate of textile design, by 1960 he had already achieved the recognition that, however, some of his colleagues would take decades to deserve. Some of them even thanks to his teachings. This was the case of Giorgio Armani, a young business enthusiast who came to Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti, the creative society, to learn the trade. The meticulous work of the emerging designer caught the attention and aroused the interest of Cerruti, who ended up calling herself his teacher, instructing him and giving him prominence to make him what he is today: an eminence in the industry.

In addition to the launch of the Armani name, his work in the sector leaves behind proposals as necessary as the first jacket deconstructed in the seventies or the adaptation of the suit, a garment for daily use, for greater freedom of movement.

Without forgetting his intuition in the conquest of the casual and sporty style. Cerruti nurtured his brand with streetwear proposals, such as a line adapted to skiing or sports on the slopes, such as tennis. Milestones that gave it the honor of being, in 1994, the firm in charge of designing the kit for the Ferrari Formula 1 team.

This is how he rejuvenated the trends without detaching them from his elegant air. No one was indifferent to his charms. Not even Coco Chanel herself, who described his art as an essential tool and was delighted with the way the pants were made.

Sharon Stone: "I don't have rules. I go with the flow»

Nor did the seventh art show resistance to his appeal. Hollywood fell in love with his patterns and he soon became known as 'the stylist of movie stars'. Michael Douglas, Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford are some of the actors who entrusted him with their costumes on and off stage. Also the actresses Sharon Stone and Julia Roberts trusted his risky vision. The first of them owes part of his fame on the big screen to that white dress that he wore in the interrogation room in Basic Instinct (1992), which he accompanied by such famous phrases as «I have no rules. I go with the flow », pronounced a few minutes before the unforgettable crossing of his legs; the second made two-tone polka dot dresses fashionable, like the one he wore in the movie Pretty Woman (1990) for the polo tournament.

A long career between workshops and creative studios that is already archived in the annals of the history of an industry in which he will always be remembered.