From the very beginning, the young Neapolitan’s career was placed under the sign of a lucky star. Born into an influential family, he spent his childhood between the family palace in Naples and their estate in Forino, among musicians, intellectuals and members of the Italian royal family that his parents frequented. At the age of 23, he met the great master of couture, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and joined him in Paris to work alongside him for four years. He then returned to Rome and worked for some of the top fashion houses before deciding to launch his own fashion house in 1961, during the golden age of la dolce vita. Federico Forquet’s singular style, playing on asymmetrical lines and bright colors, reflected the era of Italian glamour and seduced the jet set. The designer dressed the Italian upper class, counting Allegra and Marella Agnelli among his clients, and after designing costumes for the theater and cinema, he was also sought after by many actresses such as Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren and Faye Dunaway. His talent earned him the nickname “Italian Christian Dior” by Harper’s Bazaar. It was a decade of success for this great couturier whose creations also earned him praise from the press and professionals.
However, in 1972, Federico Forquet decided to close his fashion house. For this designer, who was attached to haute couture, the rise of ready-to-wear clothing in the 1970s was an upheaval. He knows deep down that he was not “born to do this”. In a 2014 interview with The New York Times, he confided, “If you create an empire, you become an emperor. But I’d rather be a private, happy citizen of the world. “