Bright, bold hues, powerful patterns, decisive lines: the fashion style and designs of Enrico Coveri blasted into the world in the 1970s and continue to enliven and astound to this day. The exhibit Coveri Story, at the new home of the Camera di Commercio in Prato, tells the life and career triumphs of this fascinating and joyful Prato native, who died in 1990 at the early age of 38.
‘The joy of life, colours, parties-these were the things that were most important to Enrico,’ says his sister, Silvana Coveri, who took over the fashion house when Coveri died. This happiness and love of fun infiltrated all his work and forms the basis of the exhibition. ‘He was an adorable person; he was fantastic,’ continues Silvana, ‘He was very young, very curious, incredible, and always surrounded by young people. The style of the fashion house was very youthful, and even today we try to involve mostly young people. Even those who are older have a ‘young mentality!’ This much is obvious from the swirling colours of her shirt, topped off by a bright pink scarf. ‘Black is sad, but colour brings joy. This is why Enrico’s style is so light and sunny.’
Coveri was born in Prato in 1952 to parents who manufactured and sold sewing machines and taught their customers how to use them. He studied at the Art Institute of Pistoia, where his talent for drawing was developed and his love of colour cemented, enriched by visits to the many textile companies of the Prato area and stints in the modelling world. Florence, however, was where leading fashion brands Ferragamo and Gucci were based, and Coveri moved there in his late teens. It was in Florence that, only a couple of years later, in 1973, he launched his first fashion line, Touche. He created a new, fresh and complete ‘look,’ which debuted on the runway in Milan. It was in Paris in 1977, however, that his talent conquered the world. His first women’s collection, full of sequins and colour, met with overwhelming success and abundant praise from both the fashion press and critics. Just 25, he was called the ‘child prodigy of fashion.’ From that moment until his death, Coveri went from success to success, designing looks ever more creative and powerful, on a par with the top names in the international fashion industry.
The models who displayed his designs on the catwalk are among the most famous in the world, and indeed it was he who discovered and launched many of them, including Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell. His choice of photographers to immortalise his works was no less exalted, including Bill King, François Lamy and Oliviero Toscani. He was friends with artists Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, who painted a portrait of him, and it was to these two artistic forerunners that Coveri dedicated his spring/summer collection in 1983-84.
In 1987, at just 35 years old, he was awarded the Grande Médaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris, recognition of his contribution to the fashion and art worlds. (Valentino was awarded the medal only this year, at the age of 80 and now retired.) The following year he became the youngest Italian to be appointed Commendatore della Repubblica. He died two years later, in 1990.
Strident yellows, brash reds, flourescent pinks and vivid greens define his style, and fill the rooms of the exhibit with light and joy, demonstrating not only the power of Coveri’s designs but also his dazzling personality. He loved parties: throwing them, attending them, dressing up and having riotous fun. ‘Parties were the most important thing in his life, he loved them!’ says Silvana, ‘He threw parties here in the house with lots of international people, they were joyous!’ Even as a child he was party-mad and adored dressing up at carnival. ‘I remember when he was six years old he was dressed as a devil and begged and begged me to take him to a party. He was such a charmer that I finally gave in!’ He went on to throw one of the most sumptuous and extravagant masked balls that Venice has ever known, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his label and hosting many of the most important people in the fashion world.
Under Silvana’s guidance, his legacy lives on in his still-thriving fashion house. Her son, Francesco Martini Coveri, is now the creative director of the Coveri fashion house and the family continues his vibrant style in their new collections. ‘We learned well because we were always beside him,’ says Silvana, ‘and we tried to keep this happy style even through the ‘dark years’ of minimalism. We didn’t have minimalist styles ourselves, because “Coveri” stands for colour.’ Indeed, the head offices and design rooms of Palazzo Coveri, his former home on Florence’s lungarno Guicciardini, are filled with contemporary art that epitomises the Coveri style, and which was in fact inspired by his designs. It is easy to see how, surrounded by such striking colours and bold patterns, Coveri’s successors have succeeded in maintaining his vision.
Contemporary art also forms a part of the exhibit in Prato: not only has the show inaugurated the new, zero-emission building headquarters of Prato’s Camera di Commercio, but it also features the pieces best loved by Coveri and that inspired his creations. The exhibition includes monumental and dynamic fashion photography alongside many original sketches, magazine covers and, of course, the clothes themselves. It is impossible not to get caught up in the excitement of an exhibition as glamorous, joyful and imaginative as Coveri’s fashion style-and, indeed, as the man himself.
Coveri Story
Until January 28, 2013
Auditorium of the Camera di Commercio
via del Romito 71, Prato
www.coveristory.it
Palazzo Coveri and the Galleria del Palazzo
Lungarno Guicciardini 19, Florence.
The Galleria del Palazzo hosts temporary exhibits every few months (closed for restoration until spring 2013). For more information, call 055/281044 or see www.galleriadelpalazzo.com
School groups can tour the design studios and offices on the upper floors of Palazzo Coveri. For information on this and on the fashion house in general, visit www.coveri.com or call 055/264410.
