Nina Ricci

Maria Nielli was born in Italy in 1883, but moved to France aged 12. She began an apprenticeship at a dressmaker’s shop when she was 13, and regularly pursued her love of fashion throughout her teenage years. Maria married Italian jeweller Luigi Ricci, then joined Raffin as a designer, where she stayed for 20 years before launching her own fashion house with her son Robert in 1932. The fashion house was christened Nina Ricci, using her married name and a nickname she had as a child. The House of Nina Ricci expanded rapidly throughout the 20th century, and today the Nina Ricci fashion brand also produces a range of fragrances and toiletries.