Blumarine

Blumarine's romantic, body-conscious femininity speaks fluently to the current taste for early-2000s glamour, and the house has deep roots in that exact mood. Founded by Anna Molinari, nicknamed the queen of roses, it built its identity on sensual, flower-strewn designs that feel tailor-made for a nostalgic revival. The appeal is less a single product than a whole flirtatious, feminine universe.

If its rose-laced, openly feminine signature is your taste, Blumarine delivers something few labels do as wholeheartedly. It is an Italian house with a Made-in-Italy pedigree and a clear creative point of view shaped over decades by Anna Molinari. As with most designer womenswear, the value lands best when you are buying into the aesthetic rather than chasing a trend.

Blumarine was established in 1977 in Carpi, in the province of Modena, by designer Anna Molinari and her late husband Gianpaolo Tarabini. The name was inspired by the couple's favourite colour and their love of the sea, which is where the blue and the marine come from. It is an Italian family story as much as a fashion one.

It is a romantic little portmanteau. The name was inspired by the founders' favourite colour, blue, and their love of the sea, marine, which together give Blumarine. That seaside sensibility has stayed woven into the brand's identity since 1977.

Anna Molinari is Blumarine's co-founder and the creative force behind its look, nicknamed the queen of roses for her love of those sensual flowers. She designed the first collection wholly her own for the 1986 Milan Fashion Week, and her romantic vision has defined the brand's signature ever since. There is even a separate Anna Molinari label within the group's stable.

Blumarine is the core brand, but it sits within a small family. Miss Blumarine arrived in 1987 for girls aged eight to fourteen, Blugirl launched in 1995 for teenagers, and the Anna Molinari line, also from 1995, has been positioned as the group's luxury label. There was also Blugirl Folies from 2007 for younger teens, and a Blu Sport menswear line shown in 2015.

Early and decisively. In 1980 the brand made its first appearance at Modit in Milan, where Blumarine was named Designer of the Year, which led to its debut at Milan Fashion Week the following year. By 1986 Anna Molinari presented the first collection she designed entirely herself, cementing the house's voice.

The founding family stayed central. Anna Molinari has long served as creative director of the Blumarine and Blugirl brands, while her son Gianguido Tarabini, who joined in 1992 and became Director of Licensing in 2004, has been CEO in charge of commercial affairs since his father's death in 2006. Her daughter Rossella Tarabini designed the Anna Molinari line from 1995 to 2004.

Roses, unmistakably. Anna Molinari is nicknamed the queen of roses for her love of these magical and sensual flowers, and that floral romance runs through the house's most recognisable designs. It is the visual shorthand that ties the brand's femininity together.

Blumarine's first boutique opened on Via della Spiga in Milan in 1990, and the company now sells through more than 1,000 retail outlets, of which around 55 are its own-brand boutiques. The sister line Blugirl has dedicated boutiques in cities from Rome and Paris to Shanghai and Seoul. Buying through these authorised stores is the safest route to the real thing.