Trussardi

Early days

Trussardi was established in 1911 by Dante Trussardi as a leather glove maker, serving both the public and the Italian army during World War II. After Dante's death, his son Giordano took over. In 1970, Nicola Trussardi succeeded his father following the accidental death of his brother Dante. Nicola's wife, Marialuisa, became the creative director. During the 1970s, Trussardi diversified into other leather goods and apparel, adopting the Italian greyhound as its logo. Nicola took full control of the business after his father's death.

Expansion

The first perfume "Trussardi" launched in 1980, followed by "Trussardi Uomo" in 1983. The women's ready-to-wear line debuted in 1983, with men's ready-to-wear in 1984 and Trussardi Jeans founded in 1986. The brand added sport and home lines and by 1985 operated 120 stores worldwide. It also created interior designs for private aircraft and helicopters.

Around this time, Trussardi entered the US market, with sections in department stores in addition to boutiques, and initial franchise locations in Beverly Hills, Atlanta, Miami, and San Francisco. The first Bloomingdales location opened in 1985, with opera singer Luciano Pavarotti in attendance for the grand opening. In 1989, the company launched its first eyewear line. In 1993, the company opened a research and development center in Brindisi, which initially focused on raw material research, new fabrics, and changing packaging to be more environmentally friendly.

The three initial lines for the collection were Trussardi Sport, Jeans, and T-store, each produced by the company Sosab—owned by Nicola Trussardi and operating out of Modena, Italy. The T-Stores started in 1996 and sold the company's lifestyle line: jeans, sports lines, bicycles, tableware, and confections. The first three stores opened in 1995 in Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Seoul. The company's first New York City store opened in 1996. That year, the turnover for the company, including licenses, was $530 million. They also opened a new store in Milan within Nicola Trussardi's redeveloped Marino Alla Scala across from the La Scala opera hall. By this time the company had seven fragrances, with about one third of fragrance sales being done in Europe and two-thirds abroad.

In 1998, Trussardi launched a new eyewear line, with both prescription and sun glasses. In 1992, Trussardi licensed its Trussardi Levriero and Trussardi Action lines to the Japanese company C. Itoh for about $1.4 billion over five years. At the time, Japan accounted for about 70% of the company's total exports out of Italy, and there were about 200 Trussardi Levriero stores in the country. Following its partnership with C. Itoh, Nicola Trussardi founded Teijin Ltd, intending it to be Trussardi's long-term partner in the country. In 2003, Trussardi took on Mitsui as its partner in Japan, ending its relationship with Teijin.

2000s and beyond

After Nicola Trussardi's death in 1999, his son Francesco became chairman, while his daughter Beatrice took on a leadership role. After her brother's death in 2003, Beatrice became president and CEO of the fashion house, staying president until Maria Luisa Trussardi took over the position. In 2006, the brand hired Eric Wright, who had previously designed for Fendi, to be the house's head designer. In the same year, Trussardi Alla Scala Restaurant was opened, becoming one of the three restaurants in Milan to have been awarded two Michelin stars, which it held until 2015. In 2008, Trussardi launched the super high-end line of brand Trussardi dal 1911, designed by Milan Vukmirovic. In 2011, Trussardi released the home décor collection MY Design, named for the initials of industrial designer Michael Young and inspired by Trussardi's designs of the 1980s and 1990s.

In 2011, Umit Benan Sahin became the label's creative director, and in 2013, Sahin was replaced by Gaia Trussardi. Prior to becoming creative director for the mainline collections, Gaia had already served as the creative director for Tru Trussardi and Trussardi Jeans. For the 40th anniversary of their logo, Yuko Shimizu produced an animated short film entitled "Sky Watcher". In 2017, Trussardi launched its latest men's fragrance Riflesso. Said to have ambrosial wafts of woody and oriental notes. In April 2018, Gaia Trussardi stepped down as creative director of the fashion house.

In February 2019, the asset management company Quattro R acquired 60% of Trussardi. A few months later, Maela Mandelli (former PVH director) was named CEO of the company. Then in October 2020, Sebastian Suhl was named CEO of Trussardi. In May 2021, Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Işık were named creative directors Trussardi.