The story
Founded by Giovanna Fontana, Micol Fontana and Zoe Fontana in 1943, in Rome.1
Born in Traversetolo, Parma, the three Fontana sisters started working as dressmakers with their mother at a very young age. They moved to Rome in 1933 where they worked as apprentices in other tailoring and sewed clothes at home.
In 1907, the sisters inherited their grandmother's tailoring atelier.
In 1943, the sisters founded a high fashion atelier in Via Liguria initially inspired by Christian Dior's New Look. The turning point of their career happened in 1949, when Linda Christian bought a Sorelle Fontana dress for her wedding with Tyrone Power. From then on the Sorelle Fontana brand gradually raised in the international jet set. The sisters dressed many celebrities and several heads of state, including Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Queen Soraya, Infanta Beatriz of Spain, Frederica of Hanover, Anita Ekberg and Joan Collins.
Their most famous creation was the provocative cassock dress that was worn by Ava Gardner inspired by the robes worn by Roman catholic priests, which had been approved by the Vatican before its release.
They founded the S.I.A.M. - Italian High Fashion Syndicate in 1953, along with many famous fashion designers such as Alberto Fabiani, Vincenzo Ferdinandi, Emilio Schuberth, Jole Veneziani, Giovannelli-Sciarra, Mingolini-Guggenheim, Eleanora Garnett, and Simonetta Colonna di Cesar.
In 1972, while continuing their production, they withdrew from official events of high fashion. After selling the company and the brand to an Italian financial group in 1992, Micol Fontana created the Micol Fontana Foundation in 1994.
A two-parts television mini-series based on the story of the fashion house, Atelier Fontana - Le sorelle della moda, was broadcast on Rai 1 in 2011. The sisters were portrayed by Alessandra Mastronardi (Micol), Anna Valle (Zoe), and Federica De Cola (Giovanna).
From Wikipedia’s article on Sorelle Fontana, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4