Maria Nelli was born in Turin in 1883. From early childhood and throughout her life she was called Nina. At the age of 12, the girl moves to France with her family. Young Nina begins to study sewing from a dressmaker. She possessed an innate talent and became a professional clothing designer in her early twenties.
In 1904, Nina married Luigi Ricci, a composer and jewelry designer from Florence. Their son Robert had entrepreneurial inclinations and an inimitable sense of style since childhood. In 1932, he persuades his mother to open his own fashion house in Paris. Nina creates collections, Robert does business. In a short time, the fashion house Nina Ricci moved from a small store to three large buildings. Unlike many fashion houses that barely made ends meet during World War II, Nina Ricci is actively growing and developing, expanding its activities. Begins to produce a line of perfume, leather goods and bijouterie. NR jewelry has been an incredible success and is now the subject of a collector’s hunt.
Nina Ricci Brand history 1883-1970
In 1954, Nina left the post of chief designer of the brand and was replaced at different times by François Craiot and Gerard Pipard. No matter how many changes took place inside the fashion house over time, this did not affect either the popularity or the quality of the Nina Ricci products themselves. After her death in 1970, the brand continued its active development.
In the early 80s, Robert Ricci met the Canadian jewelry designer Maurice Bradden, whose jewelry impressed him incredibly. They reflected the style and image of Nina Ricci herself, and so, in 1984, the D’Orlan Jewelers Ltd brand and the fashion house Nina Ricci become partners. Together they break into the fashion market Olympus and amaze customers with the quality and design of their jewelry. They are starting to use high quality 22K three-layer gold plating, Austrian crystals very similar to natural gemstones, Beijing glass, imitation pearls and a variety of different enamels. Costume jewelery and more valuable costume jewelry are quickly starting to be sold in many boutiques and large stores around the world.
In 1988, Nina signed a new contract with the Spanish PUIG group of companies, with which they successfully continued to create unique products.
