Miss Deanna - Deanna Ferretti Veroni

Deanna Ferretti Veroni, known simply as Miss Deanna, was born in Reggio Emilia, where she developed a unique talent that, between the 1970s and 2000s, led her to create knitwear for the most famous Italian and international fashion designers.

In the world of Italian knitwear, Miss Deanna would already be an institution were it not for the fact that her life – which is nothing short of cinematic – has turned her into a legend.

It is a hot summer afternoon in the early 1960s.
In Via Adua is a petrol station, and in the house next door there is a very young girl who, using a knitting machine bought as an investment, creates designs right there in her garage.
A car pulls up, fills up with petrol but cannot start again.
The two travellers, Englishmen, are desperate; they risk missing their train to Milan.
The young girl accompanies them, crammed into a ‘Topolino’ car, to the station.
The girl is Deanna Ferretti; the two Englishmen are the owners of a chain of shops linked to ‘Harrods’, thus the story of Miss Deanna begins.
Two months later, in fact, the two Englishmen return to thank her with a large box of chocolates: they see Deanna’s samples and propose a partnership.
A dream: the doors of London swing wide open.
It is not just luck, it is resourcefulness and determination.
After the Englishmen, Mr Cohen, the Bloch brand distributor for the Netherlands, comes forward.
He opens the doors to Amsterdam.
It was a short step from the Netherlands to France.
In Paris, she began working with an unknown young designer: Kenzo.
The collaboration lasted 20 years and opened the doors to the world for her.
After Kenzo, came Max Mara, then Krizia, Coveri, Armani, Versace, Valentino, and finally Martin Margiela, Neil Barrett and Lawrence Steele.

Miss Deanna does not own a brand nor does she sign collections, yet her role in international fashion is unique: she is the intermediary who makes it possible to bring designers’ ideas to life, embodying technique in the service of style.
Thanks to her, Kenzo’s flowers, Krizia’s animals and Valentino’s roses came into being: every knitwear garment bears her invisible signature, the result of expertise, creativity and attention to detail.

The knitwear factory grew to such an extent that in 1971 it moved to San Martino in Rio, in the heart of the Reggio Emilia textile district.
In 2001, the company was sold to Armani, but the archive remained in Deanna’s hands and continued to grow in historical and cultural value.
In 2005, the Modateca Deanna was created, an international fashion documentation centre open to the public, which houses not only the knitwear factory’s entire archive but also sample collections from famous designers, vintage garments, traditional costumes and items from Deanna’s personal wardrobe.
The Modateca now represents a real living heritage of Italian fashion and an unmissable stop for anyone visiting Reggio Emilia.

The city celebrates Deanna Ferretti Veroni as a symbol of craftsmanship, creativity and innovation, with honours that highlight her pioneering role.
Her example is a source of inspiration for emerging designers, fashion students and enthusiasts of textile history, who can admire at close quarters the collections that have made Italian fashion famous throughout the world.

Find out more at:
Musei.re.it
Annastyle.it
ProfiloDonna.it
IoDonna.it
MarieClaire.com