But Mr. Dell'Acqua is coming off a volatile stretch that includes quitting his own label last year. The Alessandro Dell'Acqua brand, launched in 1996, had become popular in Italy for its sexy nice-girl clothes. (He also created the gold-sequined pants worn by Michael Jackson at rehearsals for his last tour, chronicled in the film "This Is It.")
The divorce with his label was all too typical in fashion—a designer splitting with his financial backers over creative differences. As often happens, Mr. Dell'Acqua lost the legal rights to work under his own name, which was owned by the label.
Less typical was the way he handled it—sending out a lengthy press release in June 2009 that announced the house's spring collections would be "produced without my approval."
Dell'Acqua Redesigns the Brioni Woman
Italian designer Alessandro Dell'Acqua, who left his own label last year, has taken on the task of reinventing the womens wear line of Italian fashion house Brioni.
"It was very painful," he said last week. "For six months, I did no work at all." He said he is resigned to the idea that he may never again design as "Alessandro Dell'Acqua." A new manufacturer, Mariella Burani Fashion Group SpA, this month announced it will design, make and sell a line of women's clothes under the Alessandro dell'Acqua name, starting with a fall 2011 collection.
i am not feeling this
