THE BEGINNINGS

Luigi Beretta was born in Milan, and from early childhood showed a great love of fashion; he watched with interest the work of his aunts, who were seamstresses and knitters, copying the designs and models of the period. With offcuts of fabric he learned to cut and sew, and discovered that fashion was in his genes.
His father designed and produced footwear in the 40s and 50s; his mother had always been passionate about made-to-measure clothes, and when he went with her to the tailor's, he spent the time fiddling with pins and drawing models.
His love of drawing took him to the Scuola Grafica Salesiana, where he learned to draw and obtained a diploma in the subject. Wishing to learn more, he moved on to the Istituto Secoli, where he would begin to take his first steps in the world of fashion while learning design and pattern-making. Soon after this he met Italian-American designer Anna di Rossi, and started designing entire collections and garments which would later be used for television series filmed in the United States.

THE CAREER

At the age of 18 Luigi became a consultant and stylist at Framesi, a prominent multi-national in products for Hair Stylists; here he interpreted and designed two yearly collections of make-up and hairstyles. From 1986 onwards he presented these collections alongside his own garments, and in the same year he opened his first atelier in Milan.

Thanks to his association with Framesi, Beretta creations began to appear in Milan and on the catwalks of New York, Vienna, Barcelona, Madrid, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Success in these confirmed his desire to undertake the difficult and demanding route of fashion designer.

In 1988 he inaugurated the Beretta atelier in Senago, on the outskirts of Milan; here he created bespoke evening and formal wear and wedding dresses. And it is in the latter that he succeeded in translating his joyful creativity, designing original garments that stand out from the usual idea of a wedding dress. Luigi finds inspiration in famous paintings and in the history of costume, and creates all his dresses in unusual colours, never transcending taste and measurements.

The first Beretta high fashion show took place in 1990 at Milan's Hotel Leonardo da Vinci. The features of the Beretta style were already evident: attention to proportions, well-drawn shoulders descending to impeccable sleeves, singular details in tailoring; the garments were well-received and the collection sold out in less than a month. This result convinced Luigi to open a shop near his atelier, with the aim of creating two complete yearly collections of accessories. This was the beginning of the second Beretta pr�t-�-porter range.

TODAY

H is dedicated and tireless work during these years led Luigi Beretta to further develop his own ongoing quest, still looking to the worlds of art and decor for inspiration. Meanwhile his consultancy activities multiply, Luigi creates collections for firms in knitwear and luxury pret-a-porter.

In parallel, his own wedding dress collections were showing in the most prestigious venues in the sector. Their success was enormous, and in 2009 he decided to extend his premises in Senago. He moved just 100 metres down the road, but the new showroom is 250 square metres of powerful materials: marble, steel and cement, strong as Atelier Beretta's determination to continue growing.

Since 2014 Luigi Beretta has held training courses specialising in Lingerie and wedding dress design at the Carlo Secoli Institute in Milan, where Beretta himself took his first steps in the world of fashion.