The story
History
Jean Baptiste Ennemonde (Edmond) Chavasse Frette was born on 12 June 1838, in Grenoble, France, to Jean Claude Chavasse Frette, a fabric dyer, merchant, and manufacturer of socks and knitted shirts, and Marie Maréchal. After her husband died in 1840, Marie took up the activity of millinery to support her children.
On December 1, 1860, Edmond Frette, together with Charles Chaboud and Alexandre Payre, established Frette, Payre & Chaboud for "the commerce and manufacture of fabrics." Chaboud became the financial officer, and Payre and Frette became traveling merchants. As a traveling merchant, Frette started working in Italy, an export market and a source of materials. He first established himself in the Versilia area in Tuscany.
Between 1862 and 1863, Edmond Frette arrived in Monza and established another company branch. In the second half of the 1860s, Frette centralized production in his own factories. Coarse B2B products constituted the most significant portion of Frette's trade.
Company timeline
1860: Jean Baptiste Edmond Frette, Alexandre Payre and Charles Chaboud manufacture and begin distributing home linens from Grenoble, France.
1865: Two plants established in Concorezzo, Italy near Monza with production of luxury fabrics on Jacquard looms.
1878: Opens its first retailing shop in Manzoni, Milan, which still operates today.
1880: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Italy commissions Frette to produce linen for the Ministry and all Italian embassies worldwide, beginning a tradition that continues to this day.
1881: Frette wins the Gold Medal Award at the National Exhibition in Milan and becomes an official "Provider to the Royal House."
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1886: Introduces the first catalog sales and begins retailing outside Italy.
1887: Frette opens a store in Rome.
1888: Creates the Tablecloth of the "Holy Virgin" for the altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome based on a drawing by the French painter Meurillion.
1889: Frette opens a store in Turin.
1902: Frette opens a store in Genoa.
1904: Frette opens a store in Florence.
1909: Edmond Frette dies at age 71 on August 29.
1911: Dresses the banqueting room of the Titanic.
1976: The last mail-order catalog was issued.
1977: First Frette boutique opens in Bond Street, London.
1978: Frette, Inc. is established in the United States.
1999: Descendants of the company's founders cede control to the Italian fashion group Fin.part.
2004: JH Partners, a San-Francisco-based private equity firm purchases Frette from Fin.part.
2009: Supplied linen to G8’s presidential rooms with assistance from the Head of Brand Alliance Michele Cascavilla.
2013: Frette launches the European ecommerce website, www.frette.com.
2014: JH Partners sells controlling stake in Frette to Change Capital for an undisclosed sum.
2015: The historic Frette store in Monza is closed.
2019: Frette introduces a new capsule collection of bedding, loungewear, and accent pieces called Album03.
2023: Change Capital sells Frette to private holding company, Raza Heritage Holdings.
From Wikipedia’s article on Frette, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4