Born 1916 in Tiflis, Russia Empire, Russian-Georgian fashion designer Irene Galitzine joined the Italian designers Sorelle Fontana in 1943 and worked with them for 3 years. In 1946, she opened her own salon and presented her first collection. In 1960, she achieved great success with the launch of her palazzo pyjamas which were wide legged evening trousers made of soft silk. Evening pyjamas became a firm fixture of the fashion scene during the 1960s.
Fashion designs by Irene Galitzine in the 1960s
In 1962, Galitzine was named Designer of the Year by the Italian fashion press. In 1965, she won the British Sunday Times International Fashion Award and was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. Since then, her creations have been worn by some of the most famous women in the world such as Sofia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Lee Radziwill, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Princess Ira von Fürstenberg, Queen Paola of Belgium, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Marie-Hélène de Rothschild, Duchess of Windsor, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, Merle Oberon, Audrey Hepburn, Hope Portocarrero, Marella Agnelli, Greta Garbo, Catherine Spaak, Pamela Churchill Harriman and Claudia Cardinale.
In 1990, the Galitzine label was purchased by the Xines Company. She was subsequently sentenced to six months in jail for tax evasion. In September 1996, Galitizine opened her first boutique in Moscow, and in November of the same year she published her biography entitled From Russia to Russia.
Galitzine died in 2006 at her home in Rome, aged 90. These vintage photos captured portraits of classic beauties wearing fashion designs by Irene Galitzine in the 1960s.
Model in bright white raw silk slim pants and tunic top, top is encrusted with topaz and gold threads, by Irene Galitzine, photo by Lillian Bassman, Greece, Harper’s Bazaar, April 1960
Nena von Schlebrugge in dazzling pink bell-sleeved silk shantung tunic and bell-bottomed pants by Irene Galitzine, coiffure by Monti, photo by Gleb Derujinsky, Harper’s Bazaar, December 1961
Nena von Schlebrugge in peacock-blue silk shantung bell-shaped tunic over narrow pipestem trousers cuffed in fringe by Irene Galitzine, coiffure by Monti, photo by Gleb Derujinsky, Harper’s Bazaar, December 1961
Gitta Schilling in an easy top with wide batwing sleeves in fine silk lavender jersey with pants in matching silk from Galitzine’s Boutique Collection, photo by Michel Molinare, Harper’s Bazaar UK, April 1962
Gitta Schilling in long white evening sheath in silk gauze sparkling with crystal and emerald embroidery on the bodice and hem by Galitzine, photo by Lina Tenca, Harper’s Bazaar UK, March 1962
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