Schon, Mila

▪ 2009

Maria Carmen Nutrizio 

      Italian fashion designer

born 1917?, Trogir, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary [now in Croatia]

died Sept. 4, 2008, near Alessandria, Italy

created understated, impeccably tailored haute couture worn by such fashion icons as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, but it was Schön's high-end ready-to-wear collections and her innovations (notably her use of double-faced wool instead of nonwool coat linings) that put her at the centre of the Italian fashion world. Schön was an avid student of the fashion houses that she frequented as a client, and after separating from her wealthy husband, she opened (1958) an atelier in Milan. Many of her clothes were inspired by fine art and by the classic designs of Paris couturiers Dior and Balenciaga that she enjoyed wearing. She opened a chic Milan boutique in 1965, introduced menswear and the prêt-à-porter line in 1971, and later put her hand to luxury fashion accessories. Schön sold the company in 1993 but remained actively involved in the design process.

* * *