The fashion designer Carla Braccialini has died
In the 1950s, she and her husband founded the artisan handbag company that went on to become world-famous
The fashion designer Carla Braccialini, founder of the handbag and accessories company that bears her name, died yesterday in Florence. She was 95.
In the 1950s, she and her husband Roberto founded the artisan handbag company that went on to become world-famous, both for its own-brand collections and for collaborations, such as the one with Vivienne Westwood, with whom she signed a licensing agreement for the production of accessories in 1986. After the end of the Second World War, Carla Braccialini realised that the Italian market was ready for experimentation in handbag design, and so she created colourful designs featuring quirky details – at times very ‘pop’ in style – decorated with flowers, animals and little houses.
Following her husband’s death in the 1970s, she ran the business herself alongside her three sons, Riccardo, Massimo and Lorenzo. Her story has been chronicled in the biographical book *La ragazza che non sapeva fare le borse* (*The Girl Who Didn’t Know How to Make Bags*), which traces the 90-year journey of a woman who, without any technical training in the world of fashion, managed to invent a new way of creating accessories. In the book, the designer recounts her childhood in Ponte a Mensola, Tuscany, during the bombings, and her subsequent life as a mother, wife and entrepreneur.
Among his honours is the title of ‘Cavaliere del Lavoro’, which he was awarded in 2009 by the then President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano.
Today, the Braccialini brand is kept alive following its acquisition in April 2017 by Graziella Holding (a company based in Arezzo).
