Noname by Raffaella Curiel

In the heart of fashion.

No signature but everyone knows who she is. She is the designer who has been dressing Milanese ladies for the La Scala premiere for more than sixty years. And deb them for their social debut. Since 1959.

If fashion is in a state of constant upheaval – where what is fast is urged to slow down, and what is slow is encouraged to speed up – there are professional figures who seem barely touched by this deafening turmoil. Because they have done, and continue to do, their work as artisans of beauty with passion, professionalism, and style. In one word: elegance – a term that should serve as the North Star of the system, ethically as well as aesthetically, yet too often ends up buried underground.
Lella to everyone, Raffaella Curiel in the history books of fashion and costume, has passed the … age and declares it with her trademark frankness. Another remarkable exception in the world of evergreen superheroines, this gives her the freedom to remain focused, firmly in the saddle of her new label, Noname.
“After the intoxication of brands and signatures – as we called them in the Nineties – I am presenting a nameless collection,” she says with a hint of provocation. Nameless it may be, but the proposal is instantly recognizable, because it expresses her unmistakable style – impeccable in its lines and fabrics.
Above all, in its use of color, which she calibrates with mastery, as an artist who loves artists and draws inspiration from them. Unmistakable. Just a few easy pieces – call them basics if you like – but they are the hardest to make, because they must fall perfectly. And Raffaella Curiel knows exactly how to achieve that, with more than sixty years spent in the atelier: first alongside her mother Gigliola, and then with Gil, her daughter, who now runs another historic family venture yet remains constantly at her mother’s side. “We’re a common-law couple of Made in Italy fashion,” she explains. True milanese ladies (do they still exist?) can rest assured even for the next Prima della Scala: they can always count on Lella. And debutantes too – not only for their first red carpet – can turn to her and learn the art of hospitality, the kind worthy of a first lady, in a home that breathes art and history, complete with a star-worthy kitchen. “But they’re family recipes, homemade dishes,” demurs the incomparable cook, who has also written a memorable book on the subject, as she welcomes photographers, friends, and that press that truly matters – and that truly loves her – around a lavishly set table.