Zoe, Micol and Giovanna Fontana learned sewing and tailoring from their mother who had a tailoring shop near Parma, Italy and it was this trio of enigmatic sisters who put Italy on the fashion map. Creating the Sorelle Fontana label, they designed for the stars of the silver screen. Clients included Audrey Hepburn, Anita Ekberg, Elizabeth Taylor, and Ava Gardner as well as European and American royalty.
The Fontana Sisters Image: The Florentine
Portrait (from left to right) Micol, Zoe & Giovanna
Portrait (from left to right) of Giovanna, Micol and Zoe Fontana
In 1949 the silver screen stars Linda Christian and Tyrone Power tied the knot. The sisters designed the wedding gown that saw them shoot to international fame. The rest, as they say, is history.
One of the most iconic wedding dresses of all time was the gown designed in 1952 by the Fontana sisters for Audrey Hepburn whose romance to James Hanson was over before the big day. At the request of Hepburn, the dress was famously donated to a worthy Italian bride, Amabile Altobello
Their outstanding success grew from the fact that each of the sisters had a specific talent. Zoe was creative, Giovanna supervised the finances while Micol conducted the marketing. Micol took the brand to the United States making it truly global. Before long there was shift in emphasis from Paris to Rome and Milan.
A collection of dresses made between the 40s and the 90s by Sorelle Fontana – Photo from lovetoknow.com
Elizabeth Taylor was among the many Hollywood stars to call on the Fontana sisters’ talents. Sorelle Fontana had become the go-to atelier.
Elizabeth Taylor tries on some dresses in the Sorelle Fontana boutique in a photo of 9 September 1953 in Rome 
Elizabeth Taylor tries on some dresses in the Sorelle Fontana boutique in a photo of 9 September 1953 in Rome
Hollywood block-buster movie producers sought their talents to dress their stars. The sisters designed the dress worn by Anita Ekberg in Federico Fellini’s iconic movie, “La Dolce Vita,″
Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita. 
Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita.
The cassock dress designed for Ava Gardner and a similar version was later worn by Anita Ekberg in Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” Although being controversial at the time because it was based on the style of robes worn by priest, It was perhaps their most famous design.
Ava Gardner Ava Gardner in Sorelle Fontana’s pretino dress, 1955Photo: Courtesy of Micol Fontana Foundation, Rome 
Anita Ekberg inside St Peter’s dome in La Dolce Vita directed by Federico Fellini, 1960
The stunning gowns worn by Gardner in the movie “The Barefoot Contessa” were classic Sorelle Fontana design. She wore Sorelle Fontana’s clothes on and off the set
Ava Gardner, wearing a gown by Sorelle Fontana, in a publicity photo for The Barefoot Contessa (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1954) 
Ava Gardner, wearing a gown by Sorelle Fontana,
in The Barefoot Contessa (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1954)
In 1957 a pregnant Jacqueline Kennedy chose this Sorelle Fontana amazing strapless evening gown of off-white silk overlaid with pink net and a rhinestone trim to wear to the Tiffany Ball, Newport Rhode Island. It is currently on display in the JFK Museum.
Jacqueline wears Sorelle Fontana to the Tiffany Ball 1957 Newport Rhode Island 
Pink tule evening gown with off white silk and pink netting by Sorelle Fontana for Jacqueline Kennedy @JFK Museum
The Sorelle Fontana expressed the concept of “Made in Italy” in all the forms. Many designers followed in their footsteps. The brand became the trail blazer for those who followed.
View the archive footage here. https://youtu.be/trttfIKEVYk